Generate a month-by-month P&L trend

in QBs. Is there an easy way to setup this report to look at my periods side by side to spot trends?

Sure. For example, take the standard P&L report, call up the Customize Report dialog, change the Report Date Range to suit your needs, and also, under Columns, select "Display Columns by {Quarter, Week, Month, Year, etc} across the top".

This can then be exported to Excel for further analysis, if desired.