Microsoft has made a major change in how it presents its annual report. For the first time in nearly 30 years, the tech giant has stopped listing the names of its competitors — such as Apple, Google, IBM, Meta, and Nvidia — in its report.
The newly released 101-page annual report simply says that Microsoft faces competition in many markets like productivity software, computer operating systems, and cloud services. However, it does not name any specific companies.
A Microsoft spokesperson explained that this new format better reflects the fast-changing nature of the tech industry. Instead of focusing on individual competitors, the company now highlights broader areas of competition.
This is a big shift from previous years. In last year’s report, Microsoft clearly listed over 25 companies as competitors, including even OpenAI — a partner — after it launched a search tool that competed with Microsoft’s Bing.
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While Microsoft’s report no longer names competitors, company leaders still talk about rival companies. For example, CEO Satya Nadella recently mentioned Amazon during an earnings call, and executive Scott Guthrie referred to Nvidia’s advanced AI chips.
How Other Tech Companies Handle Competitors
Not all tech companies follow the same approach. Apple, Meta, and Nvidia still name their competitors in their reports. But others like Amazon, Tesla, and Google (Alphabet) have also stopped doing so — Amazon since 1999, Tesla since 2020, and Alphabet since 2022.
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This change in Microsoft’s reporting comes at a time when the company’s stock price is rising, and its market value has crossed $4 trillion.
