Tech giants report Q1, but do the numbers matter?
April 30, 2026
Four of the world’s biggest tech giants – Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft – have published their earnings for the first quarter of 2026. All four companies beat analyst expectations on the top and bottom lines, fuelled primarily by a massive re-acceleration in AI-driven demand and an increase in cloud expenditure.
However, the market’s reaction was divided; while Alphabet’s stock soared, both Meta and Microsoft saw their share price fall as investors scrutinised the staggering scale of their respective AI capital expenditure, reports AvaTrade.
Meta Platforms reported Q1 revenue of $56.3 billion (€48.1bn), a 33 per cent increase year-over-year – but its share price slumped after it said it needed to spend even more money to get the results it desires from AI.
Alphabet’s revenue for Q1 reached $94.7 billion. The company said its profits rose by 30 per cent and reported that its Google Cloud business grew by 63 per cent, an increase it attributed specifically to an increase in AI usage by companies that buy cloud services.
Microsoft’s Q1 revenue hit $77.7 billion, up 18 per cent year over year, with EPS of $3.72. Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s chief executive, said the company’s AI business is growing and the annual run rate of its AI business hit $37 billion. Stock fell by nearly 2 per cent after the company posted its results, but ticked back up in the hours after.
Operating income at Amazon increased to $23.9 billion in Q1, compared with $18.4 billion in first quarter 2025, but shares fell after it revealed it would likely make less money in Q2. In recent months, Amazon has laid off more than 30,000 workers. Meanwhile, Andy Jassy, Amazon’s chief executive, boasted of the company expanding business of manufacturing its own AI chips. He said the current annual run rate for Amazon’s chips is now $20 billion.
Commenting on the earnings, Kate Leaman, chief market analyst at AvaTrade, believes investors are no longer just looking at headline numbers: “The four biggest names in tech all beat expectations, but the headline numbers almost don’t matter anymore. What investors are really watching is the AI spending race, and last night confirmed it is accelerating, not slowing. Collectively, these companies are committing hundreds of billions to AI infrastructure – and while the early returns look promising, the cash cost is starting to show. The question the market is asking is no longer ‘are they investing enough?’ but ‘when does it pay off?’”.