Earnings, Apple, Amazon, Google and Nasdaq 100 Talking Points:
The bulk of the US tech-sectors‘ earnings were released after the New York close Thursday. Following the disappointment of Netflix earnings on January 19th and the mixed performance from Meta the previous day, we would navigate into the stalwarts of the so-called FAANG group. Apple’s market cap is $2.26 trillion and represents 11.8 percent of the Nasdaq 100s weighting. Amazon is $1.04 trillion and is 6.7 percent. Google (Alphabet) is $602 billion and 3.9 percent. Naturally, given the weight of these big players, their corporate performance carries significant weight in the consistency of the bull trend that we have seen take traction these past weeks. Now, with their mixed performance in earnings, questions over the fundamental currents carrying this enthusiasm may gain traction.
Something remarkable heading into the Thursday afternoon run of earnings releases was the strong bullish performance from Amazon, Google and Apple. The swell seems to have originated from a combination of the aftermath of the FOMC rate decision the previous day that spurred on ‘risk appetite’ as well as a sympathetic move to the Meta (formerly Facebook). The social media company missed on EPS ($1.75 vs $2.26 expected) but it beat on revenues ($32.2 billion vs $31.5 billion) and announced a sizable stock repurchasing approval. The rally for META notched a 23 percent charge which seemed to hearten the beleaguered tech sector. Yet, a technically significant development like Google shares gapping sharply higher and closing above the 200-day moving average was a provocative move which would add a speculative skew to the markets view.
Apple earnings were arguably the worst of the three relative to expectations. Given the weight this particular stock carries in the Nasdaq 100, it should be the one macro observes should watch the most closely before and during the Friday open.
EPS (Earnings Per Share): $1.88 versus $1.94 expected
Revenue: $117.2 Billion versus $121.9 Billion expected
For top e-commerce company Amazon, the mix between top line and bottom line offered a little more room for doubt by both bulls and bears. This company in particular is interesting given its place at crossroads of consumer spending being effected by inflation and soured growth forecasts alongside the ebullience of tech.
EPS: $0.03 versus $0.17 expected
Revenue: $149.2 Billion versus $145.6 Billion expected
For search titan Google, the take in was actually inline with analysts consensus forecast. Yet, that may not have been enough given the strong rally this past session and the miss on earnings per share.
EPS: $1.05 versus $1.18 expected
Revenue: $76.05 Billion versus $76.07 Billion expected
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