Microsoft Enters Third Decade On A Roll

Looking back on the first 20 years, the chairman and co-founder of Microsoft Corp. says the world’s leading computer-software company has the potential to more than double in size.

Bill Gates, 39, said that when he and Paul Allen founded the company in 1975, he never envisioned the phenomenal success it would enjoy. Today, Gates sees no reason why that success won’t continue.

“Looking concretely at the specific things Microsoft is going after, I think over a period of many years that, if things go well, I can see us more than doubling in size,” Gates said in an interview Tuesday on the Microsoft campus.

Microsoft has posted 20 years of record sales and profits. The company, which employs 18,000 people, reported profits of $1.45 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30.

Gates said Microsoft will continue to focus on what it does best - computer software. But he said it also will explore partnerships with other companies in telecommunications, entertainment and other fields.

“Our focus going forward will continue to be software. That’s what we’re good at, that’s what we like,” he said.

Gates said he expects that Windows and Office will continue to be the company’s biggest products 10 years from now - just as they are today.

Rick Owens, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities who tracks Microsoft, agreed with Gates’ assessment that Microsoft could more than double in size.

“I think he’s probably right,” Owens said. “Right now, they’re just in the PC area. If they can break that barrier, I definitely think you can see it down the road.”

During the interview, Gates indicated that he will will begin to think about a possible successor in the next five to 10 years.

“I’ll have to figure out what makes sense in terms of somebody - probably a younger person - taking charge,” Gates said.

But he added, “There’s nothing that’s going to happen in the near future.”