It's a big week for Big Tech earnings with the spotlight on Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta. Last week's Alphabet report, which boosted Google stock, offered clues on what to expect.
Google parent Alphabet on Thursday posted solid results. That boosted Wall Street hopes that the impact of the Trump tariff turmoil may not be that bad, especially for fellow Magnificent Seven companies Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Apple.
"Google is a good barometer for the other four Mag 7 earnings," analyst Ray Wang of Constellation Research told Investor's Business Daily. "The challenge is the Q2 forecast and what to expect."
Google Stock: Insights From Report
Google reported results as market uncertainty triggered by the Trump tariff offensive roiled technology stocks.
"We are a few trade deals away from a recovery or from chaos," Wang said. "That's the challenge."
Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives echoed this point. "Tariff uncertainty is the black cloud overhang on the tech sector," he said in a client note. He cited chipmakers and Apple as being "in the eye of the Category 5 storm on this trade war with China."
Apple reports quarterly results Thursday with Wall Street focused on what the iPhone maker says about how tariffs have impacted its business.
"We would expect minimal guidance from Cupertino," Ives wrote, referring to Apple's Silicon Valley home.
However, Apple "may get a bump from pre-tariff purchases," Wang said.
How Google Eased Worries
Overall, the Google report appeared to ease investor worries about Big Tech.
"Is Dr. Google what the market needed?" Bernstein analyst Mark Shmulik quipped in a note, pointing to what the tech behemoth's report underscored: "a healthy dose of strong fundamental performance."
Google offered upbeat signals on two key areas.
First, digital ad spending appeared to be going strong.
Apple management "did not call out any signs of a softening ad backdrop through April, likely tempering some investor concern in the near-term," Ives said.
This is good news for Meta and Amazon, which also reports on Thursday. Meta and Microsoft report on Wednesday.
"In general, ad spend for Meta and Amazon will be strong," Wang predicted.
Google Stock: What Now For AI?
Second, Google's report eased worries about the tech trend in Wall Street's spotlight: artificial intelligence.
The company's comments on its cloud revenue growth was "encouraging," Ives wrote, as it pointed to how Google's "more aggressive pace of investment should alleviate capacity constraints as AI demand continues to scale."
Ives also cited conversations with "dozens" of major tech executives and decision-makers that confirmed AI's momentum.
"The good news is that we are still seeing very firm CapEx (capital expenditure) intentions for 2025 as this AI Revolution is upon us and the use case enterprise phase is accelerating in many large scale AI strategic deployments," he wrote.
Wang also argued: "CapEx spending isn't going to slow down for AI investments."
