Microsoft’s royalties from its patent claims on Google Android devices are now in the range of $444 million a year, according to a Goldman Sachs estimate reported this morning by Business Insider. Although unconfirmed by the company, that would be a notable amount, fast approaching a half-billion dollars following Microsoft’s latest patent deal with Samsung.
Many companies will never make that much in a year from their actual businesses. But keep in mind that this is Microsoft, with revenue estimates from Wall Street in the range of $75 billion this year. The $444 million wouldn’t come close to covering a quarter’s worth of losses (more than $700 million) in the Redmond company’s online division.
Maybe not the best example, given the massive red ink generated by the company’s Bing search engine, but you get the point.
Microsoft doesn’t report specific revenue for Windows Phone, but based on some past numerical sleuthing by SeattlePI.com, the Goldman estimate confirms suspicions that Microsoft’s Android royalty revenue is in the same ballpark, at least.
According to the Business Insider report, Goldman estimates that the Android patents deals will add 4 cents to Microsoft’s annual earnings per share. Microsoft’s overall EPS is estimated at $2.86 for the current fiscal year, according to a Thomson Reuters poll of Wall Street analysts.
Microsoft declined to comment. The company has been criticized for attempting to win royalties from companies implementing Android and other competing technologies, but Microsoft executives also point out that it’s a two-way street. Microsoft says it has paid out more than $4.5 billion in royalties itself and struck more than 700 patent licensing deals in the past decade.
