Microsoft stock has barely budged since July. Earnings are about to change that.

Microsoft has been all but ignored since its last earnings report. But a “cloudy" outlook when it releases its results this coming week could be just what the stock needs to start heading higher again. Microsoft briefly topped the $4 trillion market cap milestone in intraday trading after it reported its latest earnings in late July, but the stock has lost momentum since then. Shares, at $520.56, are roughly flat since the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings release on July 30, even as the Nasdaq Compo ...