Microsoft

01 / WHAT IT BUILT

What the company did

Microsoft Corporation is the Redmond, Washington technology giant founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. After going public in 1986 it became the world's largest software maker on the strength of Windows and Office, later expanding into servers, Xbox, cloud computing (Azure) and online services. It remains one of the world's most valuable and profitable companies. The record's 2009 event year does not refer to a company failure: in 2009, during the Great Recession, Microsoft posted the first annual revenue decline since its IPO, cut about 5,000 jobs in its first mass layoffs, and its Online Services division lost $1.65 billion - but the company stayed strongly profitable, earning $14.6 billion in fiscal 2009, and recovered fully.

03 / EVENT HISTORY

Events in the structured record

1. 1975
   Founded

   Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft; it went public in 1986.

2. 2009
   First revenue decline

   During the Great Recession, Microsoft posted its first-ever annual revenue decline since the IPO, reported its first-ever quarterly revenue drop (Q3, down 6% to $13.6 billion), and cut about 5,000 jobs in its first mass layoffs; full-year profit still reached $14.6 billion.

3. Pending
   Status

   Microsoft remains one of the world's most valuable and profitable companies; it never failed.