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Microsoft Has Lost $5.5 Billion On Bing Since 2009

Posted by Unknown on from the feed-the-cash-fired-stove dept.

Landing on slashdot for the first time, MightyMartian writes "According to CNN Money, Microsoft has lost $5.5 billion on Bing since its launch in 2009. But it gets even better. If you include Microsoft's other online offerings, all the way back to 2007, the losses are somewhere in the neighborhood of $9 billion. But not to worry, analysts expect Bing to become profitable in 'three to four years.'"

5 of 217 comments (clear)

  1. It's an investment. by ge7 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Google is in the same situation elsewhere - they're spending LOTS of money to try to gain market share in Russia and China, but so far they're being crushed by the local giants Yandex and Baidu. These companies see it as a long-term campaing and have the means and money to do it. After all, it's still a lot easier to try to gain market share now than it will be in 20-30 years. Even if things are quite laid down now, they will be even more so all the time when time passes.

    It's also just corporate finances. Even if Microsoft's online division loses money, it gains them recognizition and sales elsewhere. The one good thing about Microsoft is that they tend to stick to what they started. It's not like Google who might just cancel the product you're using the next day.

    So if they don't keep investing to it now, they're basically letting Google have 99% of western search engine market. I really don't want that happen either - competition is good.

    1. Re:It's an investment. by ynp7 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Microsoft "stick" to what they started? Seems to me that they throw out shit all the time. Bing is a perfect example of where they also throw out customer-facing services. Just a few years ago it was "Live Search," which failed terribly as a brand, so they threw it out and started paying people to use Bing to pump up their search rankings.

      You may also remember Microsoft Zune and Kin. Perhaps you blinked and missed those?

      Or maybe you just notice the Google ones more because, like me, you find them more useful and thus actually feel the impact when they shutdown a project.

    2. Re:It's an investment. by gcnaddict · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The one good thing about Microsoft is that they tend to stick to what they started.

      ...unless you're a developer.

      How many platforms has Microsoft killed in a short timeframe in the name of the future?

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  2. A good thing... by recoiledsnake · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is a good thing because the search business is really cut throat and the cost of entry is too high for anyone else. Atleast Google is kept on toes by Bing, and people looking to get away from the increasingly all-encompassing Google have a second choice.

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  3. Just a little while by tsa · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Analysts expect Bing to become profitable in 'three to four years."

    That's about as long as it takes for Linux to reach the desktop.

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