You might think the risk of being disrupted was now simply part of the normal course of business in the tech industry. But you wouldn’t know that from the way some of the biggest companies report their earnings.
This week’s financial results from Microsoft and Intel still emphasise the upheaval caused by the smartphone and cloud computing revolutions. After dominating the PC era of computing, both companies have been taking some knocks as they try to adjust.
Microsoft took a $1.1bn charge in connection with its failed Nokia acquisition, completing the writedown of the entire $7.2bn it spent trying to jump on the smartphone bandwagon. A day later, Intel took a $1.4bn restructuring charge for an overhaul that is meant to leave it better positioned for the post-PC world.