Microsoft’s earnings countdown is on

The software trade isn’t one big trade

Matt Powers and Jim Cramer basically delivered the same sermon: don’t treat software like a single basket of vibes. Microsoft gets singled out because it’s got the kind of moat investors love — sticky products, enterprise switching costs, and an AI story that sounds more like a tailwind than a threat.

Why Microsoft keeps showing up in the “safe” bucket

The bull case here is simple and annoyingly effective:

• Microsoft is seen as one of the few names with fortress-like fundamentals.
• It’s still trading below its highs, even after bouncing lately.
• The stock reportedly sits around 25x forward earnings, which is below its usual premium-ish neighborhood.

That’s the kind of setup that makes people squint at the chart and say, “Wait, is this actually a discount?”

But the real date to watch is April 29

All the commentary in the world doesn’t matter nearly as much as the next earnings print. Microsoft is set to report on April 29, and that’s when investors will find out whether the AI buzz, cloud resilience, and giant ETF ownership are still translating into real numbers.

If Microsoft surprises, you can expect the growth ETFs that own a ton of it — IVW, IWY, and SPYG — to feel the ripple effects too. When a stock has that much index weight, it’s basically the roommate who turns the whole apartment’s lights on and off.

Big picture

This isn’t a “buy all software” moment. It’s a “choose your battles” moment, and Microsoft remains the heavyweight everyone keeps circling back to before earnings.