Yes, you read that right. Microsoft. No joke.
The company known to traders as "Mr. Softee" (for its ticker symbol MSFT) is up 31% in 2013. This morning, Microsoft launched Windows 8.1, an improved version of a moderately received update of its operating system.
For a while now, Microsoft hasn't been considered at the forefront of innovation. Whereas it once dominated consumer tech more than a decade ago, it's fallen far behind Apple. Its $76 billion in revenues over the last 12 months is less than half of Apples and its market value of $232 billion is about two-thirds its Cupertino rival.
However, Apple has recently been perceived as having suffering from malaise, something Microsoft was thought to have had for a long time.
Since the loss of founder Steve Jobs, Apple's new releases haven't been entirely new products. Instead, they've mostly been upgrades of its previously cutting-edge devices that had changed the game in mobile phones, portable music, and tablets. The situation echoed what happened to Microsoft when Bill Gates stepped down from its helm.
So, has anything truly changed for Microsoft?
We asked Talking Numbers contributors Steve Cortes, Founder of Veracruz TJM, and Richard Ross, Global Technical Strategist at Auerbach Grayson, if investors should put Microsoft's "Start" button back in their portfolios.
To hear analysis by Cortes and Ross, watch the video above.
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