It was a big day for Big Tech on Wednesday, with Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta – collectively worth some $12 trillion (€10.2 trillion) – all reporting earnings.
The simultaneous release of results from four of the world’s largest companies was a lot for investors to absorb, but it was the differing reactions to Google parent Alphabet and Facebook parent Meta that stood out.
Both beat expectations on revenue and profit. Both signalled yet another increase in already vast spending on artificial intelligence (up to $145 billion for Meta, $190 billion for Alphabet). However, Alphabet’s shares rose sharply, while Meta’s lost almost a tenth of their value.
The divergence might frustrate a Meta investor. Operating income at both groups grew at roughly the same pace. Advertising – still the core business for each – remains strong. Meta, in particular, reported accelerating momentum.
Still, the difference lies in how that spending is perceived. Alphabet can point to tangible areas where AI is already feeding through – cloud growth, improvements in search, and even the prospect of selling its own chips more widely. As a result, Alphabet – now the world’s second most valuable listed company, worth more than $4.5 trillion after an astonishing 135 per cent share price rally over the past year – extended its gains.
