If you’re an investor in technology stocks … congratulations. You probably had a pretty good day.
A day after the NYSE had to halt trading on tech stocks that were so high they were breaking its systems, many large technology (and technology-adjacent) companies reported their earnings today, April 26, and they all beat analysts’ expectations. At the same time, Facebook, which reported on Wednesday, saw its shares soar 9%, while Alphabet rose nearly 2% after posting earnings Monday.
Amazon
The online retail giant crushed analysts’ exceptions, generating over $51 billion in revenue, compared with the $49.8 billion analysts had forecasted. The results sent the stock price soaring by about 6%, or $100, to $1,615 in after-hours trading.
Microsoft
Microsoft also beat analysts’ expectations by about $1 billion, posting revenue of nearly $27 billion. But for reasons not immediately clear its stock price dipped by about 1% in after-hours trading to $93. (Some are postulating that it may be because Amazon, its main competitor in cloud computing services, had an even more impressive quarter.)
Intel
Chip-maker Intel joined Microsoft and Amazon in a billion-dollar beat on revenue, sending its stock price up about 8%, or $4, to $57 in after-hours trading.
Starbucks
While you might believe Starbucks to be the place you get your morning coffee, it is, in fact, a technology company. It had a modest beat on its expected revenue, posting $6 billion in sales for the quarter. But slowing US revenue growth and a marginal outlook for improvement sent shares sliding about 2%, or $1.30, to $58 in after-hours trading.
Time Warner
Time Warner, another technology-adjacent company, beat on revenue expectations this morning. The media company is in the process of being bought by AT&T, but that didn’t stop it from posting $3.34 billion in revenue, just above the $3.29 billion analysts had been expecting. Unfortunately, the high cost of acquiring and creating content ate into profits, sending the stock price down about 3% to $9.67 at market close.