Key Points
- Microsoft has stopped naming its competitors in its annual report for the first time in 30 years.
- Longtime rivals like Apple and IBM were not mentioned in the new report.
- The company says the new, more general approach better reflects the fast-paced tech market.
- This is a break from common industry practice, as companies like Apple and Meta still name their rivals.
In a major break from a decades-long tradition, Microsoft has stopped calling out its rivals by name in its annual report. For the first time since at least 1994, the company’s new 101-page report contains zero references to longtime foes like Apple and IBM, or newer challengers like Anthropic.
Last year’s report officially named over 25 competitors. Now, Microsoft simply says it faces competition in broad categories like cloud infrastructure and productivity software. The change is notable because many other tech giants, including Apple, Meta, and Nvidia, continue to name their competitors in their filings.
A Microsoft spokesperson said the new, more general format better reflects the fast-moving nature of the tech industry. It’s a practice that some other major companies, like Amazon and Alphabet, have also adopted in recent years.
The change is significant because these disclosures often provided a clear window into who Microsoft saw as its biggest threats. Just last year, for example, Microsoft started referring to its key partner, OpenAI, as a competitor after the AI startup launched its web search feature.
Of course, this doesn’t mean Microsoft executives have stopped keeping tabs on the competition. CEO Satya Nadella mentioned Amazon on the company’s earnings call this week, and other executives have recently called out rivals by name in public comments. The move comes as Microsoft’s fortunes are soaring, with its market cap recently crossing the $4 trillion mark.
