Adjusting for inflation, those numbers suggest very minimal growth.
But also, if you look at their 2023 report[1] it is contracting substantially:
Windows revenue decreased $3.2 billion or 13% driven by a decrease in Windows OEM. Windows OEM revenue decreased 25% as elevated channel inventory levels continued to drive additional weakness beyond declining PC demand. Windows Commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 5% driven by demand for Microsoft 365.
Some of that may be cyclical because hardware purchases went way up during the pandemic period and are coming back down to earth, but that doesn't matter anymore to stock value when investors are chasing quarterly or annual performance.
Adjusting for inflation, those numbers suggest very minimal growth.
Adjusting for inflation, that's still a two billion dollar increase. I wish I had problems like that.
As for the rest, you're demonstrating my point. GGP talked about Windows being a "distraction and an expense" when it's still generating tens of billions in revenue.
That's not a distraction and expense, that's a cornerstone.
But also, if you look at their 2023 report[1] it is contracting substantially:
Some of that may be cyclical because hardware purchases went way up during the pandemic period and are coming back down to earth, but that doesn't matter anymore to stock value when investors are chasing quarterly or annual performance.[1]: https://www.microsoft.com/investor/reports/ar23/index.html