Microsoft's Urge for Emerging Business

You'd expect Microsoft(MSFT Quote) to keep a spotlight on its big moneymakers Windows, Office and Servers -- after all, they do generate more than 80% of the company's sales.

But the software giant also is busy readying its so-called emerging-business units for their close-up. For two of the four, MSN and Home and Entertainment, which represent 15% of the company's trailing 12-month sales, the future is nigh, say analysts.

Microsoft is pumping substantial sums and energy into those often-neglected units, hoping the investment will drive future growth.

In a November research note, Pacific Crest Securities analyst Brendan Barnicle put a number on just how much Microsoft's emerging businesses could matter in coming years. He projected that they could flip-flop from being a drain of 5 cents a share on Microsoft's earnings to boosting earnings 13 cents a share by fiscal 2008. (Barnicle or a member of his family holds Microsoft shares.) ...