Surface RT: the tablet that needed a $900 million coupon
Microsoft wrote off $900 million in unsold Surface RT inventory
The market's verdict: -10.6% on MSFT in the week after.
What actually happened
Surface RT launched October 26, 2012 at $499 to explain Windows RT, a version of Windows that ran Store apps and not Windows programs, a distinction customers mostly discovered at home after paying. Sales went the way such distinctions usually go. The price fell $150 on July 14, 2013, and four days later, alongside the One Microsoft reorg memo and quarterly earnings, Microsoft disclosed a $900 million charge for Surface RT inventory adjustments, roughly $150 of loss per unsold tablet. It left retail quietly by March 2014. Launch-day buyers got to watch their device's value perform a swan dive, with fewer apps than a full Windows PC to comfort them on the way down.
This one is officially acknowledged.
Links
↳ caused by Surface RT $900M inventory charge (July 2013)
Timeline
- Jul 18, 2013 Stood by it Microsoft stood by it.