But at a time when tech heavyweights from Compaq (CPQ) to Sun Microsystems (SUNW) are forecasting money-losing quarters, the Redmond software company is very solidly in the black. Microsoft's stock -- which at a Wednesday closing price of $56 is down from a year high of $76 -- has also done better than shares of most large-cap Nasdaq tech firms. With a stock market capitalization of $308 billion, the software company that everyone loves to hate is still trading at a lofty premium, even with a federal antitrust case still hanging over its head. Out of the myriad businesses that Microsoft has a hand in, however, Merrill Lynch analyst Henry Blodget believes it is the company's operating system unit that is most responsible for its financial health. "Since MSFT has a monopoly in its core business, the company is not vulnerable to the stiff price competition that can hurt other tech leaders in times of weak demand," he wrote.