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| MICROSOFT ON TRIAL | |
 November 12, 1998 
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JIM COMPTON: Microsoft, whose profits have soared by a third or more in each of the last three years, is hardly a company in trouble. Nevertheless, there were undercurrents of concern among stockholders attending its annual meeting this week about the antitrust suit brought by the Department of Justice.
JIM COMPTON: But you're not selling? FEMALE SHAREHOLDER: No. I'm not going to sell, uh-uh. MALE SHAREHOLDER: The growth can't maintain the previous pace, but it's allowed me to get an early retirement, so I'm going to hang onto it for a while longer. JIM COMPTON: Microsoft did not admit news organization cameras but passed out an edited videotape a few hours after the meeting. The 2,000 owners of Microsoft's stock who crowded the auditorium in Bellevue, Washington, heard Chairman Bill Gates lash out at the Justice Department suit. |
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| Microsoft shareholder meeting. | ||||||||||||||
 BILL
GATES: An important principle is at stake in this case. The government
is challenging the right of Microsoft to innovate and decide what goes
into its products, and so this is an issue not just for Microsoft but
for all American technology companies. The more we see of the case, the
more clear it is that there's an effort here to advance the interests
of a handful of competitors over the interests of the public or the economy.
Consumers are choosing Microsoft's products because of their technology.
I am proud to be a part of the role Microsoft has played in making American
technology a global leader.
JIM COMPTON: While stockholders were told that the litigation posed a serious threat to the company, Gates made clear his intention to throw all the company's energies into the battle with the Justice Department. Seattle Times columnist and author Paul Andrews is a longtime Gates watcher.
JIM COMPTON: Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., in the fourth week of
Microsoft's antitrust trial, the federal court heard new testimony painting
an unflattering picture of Microsoft as corporate bully. Justice Department
lawyers presented testimony this week that Gates sought to quash development
of software by the microchip manufacturer Intel. The court saw JIM COMPTON: Did you go to the meeting with some fears about the Department of Justice situation? OTHER FEMALE SHAREHOLDER: I did. I did, and I came out reassured. I obviously don't know enough about it, the complexities of the whole situation, learned something, and did come out reassured. OTHER MALE SHAREHOLDER: I think one thing we've all learned is don't keep your e-mail, or don't send anything you don't want anybody else to see. JIM COMPTON: Microsoft's antitrust problems seemingly have had little effect on its prosperity. The company - with more than $14 billion in sales last year - has an after-tax profit margin of 31 percent. |
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FEMALE
SHAREHOLDER: I don't know what to think at this point. I'm coming to
listen and hear. I think it obviously has hurt the price. I mean, I'm
sure it has, and that's my guess anyway. 
PAUL
ANDREWS, Seattle Times: Bill plays it right up into the boundary
line, and you have to kind of tell him where that boundary line is,
and a lot of times the boundary line is not that distinct. Bill's policy
has always been to push as far as he and as hard as he can, and he's
still pushing. He's going to push until something happens to stop him
from doing that. 
excerpts
from videotaped testimony by Gates in which he dodged questions about
allegations that Microsoft sought to intimidate Netscape, Intel, and
Apple Computer and squelch competition. The mood after the stockholder
meeting was buoyant. There had been no possible questions from stockholders,
and there was a rush to get Gates' autograph, and some were comforted
by what they heard.