Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Alphabet – Google’s parent company – all released earnings reports for the first quarter of this year, and the results show that the large tech companies are not immune to market volatility. While the US IT behemoths earned billions of dollars and delivered results that were in line with reduced expectations, their prices sank as investors worried that the problems would not be rectified anytime soon, according to AFP. According to eMarketer analyst Paul Verna, the corporations may be experiencing a ‘post-pandemic hangover.’ While the outbreak was not a celebration for many businesses, it did considerably boost their profits.
Amazon revealed its first quarterly loss since 2015, dragged down by its investment in electric vehicle company Rivian, and warned of significant difficulties in the coming months. The e-commerce business posted a $3.8 billion loss in the first three months of the year. ‘This was a rough quarter for Amazon, with trends in every significant area of the business trending in the wrong way and a negative prognosis for the second quarter, said Insider Intelligence chief analyst Andrew Lipsman.
Apple reported higher-than-expected earnings on the back of robust consumer demand but warned that the China Covid-19 blockage and other supply chain concerns will cost the firm $4 to $8 billion in the June quarter. Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged supply chain interruptions caused by Covid and silicon shortages, as well as the Ukrainian crisis, saying, ‘we are not immune to these issues’.
Alphabet and Facebook parent Meta place a high value on digital marketing, and financial reports show that marketers are being more frugal with their spending. Paul Verna observed that the pandemic’s rapid spread was unsustainable and that the tech titans should have anticipated this.
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