
A hundred days into the Trump administration and amid rising tariff tensions, Big Tech has largely delivered this earnings season. Six of the “Mag 7” have now reported, and despite geopolitical headwinds, core fundamentals—especially across cloud, AI, and advertising—have held strong. This resilience underscores the quality and strategic positioning of these companies, which remain on the cutting edge of innovation. However, investors are parsing results more carefully, and guidance has taken centre stage.
Microsoft led the pack with a 7% rally, beating expectations thanks to continued strength in Azure (+35% YoY) and soaring adoption of its AI-driven Copilot tools. Meta also impressed, rising 4% on strong ad growth (+20%) and rapid scaling of its AI monetisation platforms. Even Alphabet, though met with a more muted 1% gain, showed sharp improvement in cloud profitability and announced a $70B buyback, reinforcing its AI infrastructure credentials.
Amazon and Apple, however, saw post-market declines (-3% and -4%, respectively) despite headline beats. For Amazon, strong AWS performance (17% YoY growth, 39.5% margin) was overshadowed by concerns over retail EBIT margins and tariff exposure. Apple flagged a $900 million tariff drag and offered cautious guidance, with investors also noting the lack of clear AI messaging ahead of WWDC.
Tesla, despite a headline EPS miss, rebounded 5% post-results after pivoting away from Robotaxi hype to a renewed EV focus—signalling the market’s low bar and high beta appetite for the stock.
All eyes now turn to Nvidia’s results on May 28, which remain the final major catalyst this cycle. With AI positioning stretched and capex-heavy portfolios vulnerable to a China slowdown, any disappointment could ripple across semiconductor and AI names.
Overall, this quarter affirms Big Tech’s staying power and operational excellence—even under political and economic pressure. Yet, the market’s reaction highlights a growing sensitivity to macro headwinds, geopolitical risk, and margin discipline. The innovation engine remains intact, but investors are choosing where to bet more carefully.
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