[rxp]

The way I read it, the author is asserting that Microsoft did exactly what a corporation is "supposed" to do, by focusing on maximizing shareholder value, and in the process stagnated. Meanwhile, Apple and Amazon are held up as examples of companies which culturally value customers more than shareholders, and as a result do better for shareholders as well.

This would imply that doing what's best for shareholders in the short term looks very different from the long term.