Investopedia: Can A Better Mobile And Online Performance Push Microsoft To $40?

Perhaps the surest sign that Wall Street doesn't think of Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) as a "true" tech stock anymore is that analysts (and company management) talk about company performance in stodgy year-on-year terms - not the go-go growth sequential comparisons that are so common elsewhere in tech. Be that as it may, even a lumbering giant can cover a lot of ground simply by falling forward, and there may be more potential here than its current price suggests.   

A Tepid Midwinter Report  
Microsoft's fiscal second quarter earnings don't really help the case of investors and analysts who believe Microsoft has more growth potential than the market believes. After all, revenue rose just 5% for the quarter, while operating income fell 2%. While the top number was a little weak relative to analyst guesses, the bottom line number was a little better and operating margin was a little stronger than most analysts expected. (For related reading on operating income, see Analyzing Operating Margins.)

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