>It's not clear that this is true. According one analyst:...Microsoft should
not be compared to Standard Oil or AT&T because its assets (installed user
base, brand, management team, etc.)
are worth less when divided
Well, Microsoft's assets are intangible, making apples to apples difficult;
book value accounts for something less than 5% of MSFT's market cap
But the larger point: my rule of thumb is when the market says one thing (in
this case, MSFT is worth about the same today as Friday, whole or in parts or
in chains) and an analyst says another (particularly one for a rival
magazine), believe the market.
Tom