number keeps climbing. If the company is able to increase monetization for the massive user base, it could provide a major growth catalyst. The current and future outlook: For now, and the next few quarters, Microsoft shares could remain under pressure along with most stocks in the PC industry. It has not helped that a key executive left the company shortly after the Windows 8 launch, and the Surface tablet is likely to face a tough time in gaining traction when the iPad has so much momentum. For this reason, it's probably too early to take a large position in the stock. Two potentially major catalysts for the stock (the Surface and Windows 8 launch) have come and gone and that could mean that the most likely scenario is for the stock to trade a lot like a bond. It has dropped to about $26 per share, and it offers a yield of roughly 3.5% which is right in the range of what bond investors look for in terms of yield. Microsoft has a relatively stable source of revenues, and stability is another desirable attribute for many bonds. It has a fortress-like balance sheet with about $67 billion in cash and just around $12 billion in debt. This horde of cash reduces risks for shareholders and it gives the company plenty of money to spend on development of existing and future products. The bottom line is that Microsoft shares might continue to be brought down as investors seem to continue