Every few months, the market decides a perfectly good company is broken. That was the story with Microsoft heading into its latest earnings report. Concerns had been building for a while. Then the numbers came out, the pessimism faded, and the stock rallied. As Seeking Alpha noted this week, the earnings call pushed back on the overly gloomy narrative and shares outperformed the broader market.

I have watched Microsoft for a long time. Bought my first shares years ago and have never felt the need to sell them. My general impression is that Microsoft has a remarkably strong and resilient business. That is my own read, developed from observation rather than anything the earnings report itself confirmed.

What I find mildly annoying is how quickly sentiment swings on a company like this. A few quarters ago Microsoft could do no wrong. Then a couple of guidance numbers made people nervous and the story shifted. One earnings call later, the tune changes again.

This is why I do not trade around earnings on companies I plan to hold for decades. The short-term sentiment whiplash tells you almost nothing about where the business will be in five or ten years. Microsoft today is, in my view, not meaningfully different than it was three months ago. What changed was the mood of analysts who needed something new to say.

I would not personally buy Microsoft at these levels. The stock looks expensive at current prices, on my read. My preference, as anyone who reads this column knows, is to put new money into broad index funds. VTI gives you exposure to Microsoft without the need to time entries and exits on a single stock that the market treats like a mood ring.

If you already own Microsoft, the earnings report should ease your mind. Based on years of following the company and watching the broader software space, my general impression is that the core business remains on solid footing. Nothing in the market's reaction suggests the fundamental story has deteriorated.

The phrase "buy and hold forever" gets thrown around a lot, and I am wary of it because it encourages people to stop paying attention. No stock deserves blind loyalty. Microsoft strikes me as one of those rare companies where patient ownership has been rewarded over long periods. Just understand that buying at current prices, which look rich to me personally, likely means your returns over the next decade will be lower than what earlier holders enjoyed. That is not a knock on the company. That is just math.

As usual, I am sharing my perspective, not giving you professional financial advice. Talk to an advisor before making decisions about your own portfolio.