Microsoft’s business is on fire. So how can its stock break from its curse?

Microsoft’s tight relationship with OpenAI was once seen as an asset. Lately it’s been an albatross of sorts.

Shares of Microsoft

MSFT are essentially flat over the past six months, even as the company has posted the fastest cloud growth of the three big providers. One worry is that OpenAI, whose business is helping fuel that robust cloud growth, might spread more of its work around. Another fear is that OpenAI simply may not end up the winner of the chatbot wars, despite its head start.