Microsoft says Vista will ship when it's ready, shares decline

Microsoft Corp. Co-President Kevin Johnson said the company will ship its new Windows Vista product when it's ready, sparking some concern among investors that the software may be delayed for the second time since March.

Shares of Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, dropped 42 cents to $23.95 at 1:48 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares earlier had traded as high as $24.60.

While Johnson told the company's analyst day at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington, that he sees no "data or information" to suggest the company may miss its deadline, he stopped short of committing to meet its targets. Microsoft earlier this year delayed the release of the next Windows for consumers until January, missing the holiday shopping season.

"Maybe people wanted to hear it's shipping by the deadline for sure," said Tony Ursillo, who helps manage $75 billion at Loomis, Sayles & Co. in Boston, which owns 1.4 million Microsoft shares. "I actually took it as a positive that he thinks things are still on track."

The new version of Windows, which runs on about 95 percent of the world's personal computers, is running about two years late. Microsoft will release a near-final test version, called a "release candidate" this quarter, Johnson said.

"We want constant hand holding about the fact that they're on track for the releases," Ursillo said.