US techonology giants’ profits on a roll in Q1
new york — Profits surged at four US technology giants in the first three months of the year. Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Intel reported rising profits on Thursday.
Google parent Alphabet Inc posted a surge in profit and revenue on Thursday as its core advertising business continued to grow at an extraordinary rate and problems such as an advertiser boycott of YouTube had little impact.
Alphabet’s profit beat Wall Street estimates and rose 29 per cent to $5.43 billion, a performance that analysts called exceptional for a company so large.
“For a company of Google’s size to post the growth that it has is just a testament to the quality and usefulness of the products they make,” said Colin Gillis, an analyst with BGC Partners. They are the dominant force in digital advertising.”
Shares of the company rose 2.8 per cent to $916.80 after the bell on Thursday.
Amazon
Amazon.com Inc’s retail and cloudcomputing sales rose in the first quarter, inching above Wall Street’s expectations and sending the company’s shares to an all-time high in extended trading.
The world’s largest online retailer said on Thursday net sales rose 23 per cent to $35.7 billion, just beating analysts’ average estimate of $35.3 billion.
More fees from Amazon’s Prime shopping club and media streaming services, along with growing advertising revenue, also boosted results.
Profit, which has traditionally been fleeting at a company that focused on growth, was also ahead of expectations.
Net income rose 41 per cent to $724 million, or $1.48 per share, marking the eighth straight quarter that the company posted a net profit. Analysts on average were expecting $1.12 per share.
Amazon’s revenue has soared in recent years as shopping has moved online and businesses have moved their computing operations to the cloud, where Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the biggest player. AWS accounts for a majority of Amazon’s operating profit.
Microsoft
Microsoft’s cloud business propelled its fiscal third-quarter earnings above Wall Street’s expectations, but revenue fell short, sending the software maker’s stock lower in after-hours trading.
Microsoft said on Thursday that it earned $4.8 billion, or 61 cents per share, in the JanuaryMarch period. That’s up 28 per cent from $3.76 billion, or 47 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.
Excluding one-time items, Microsoft earned $5.71 billion, or 73 cents per share. That’s up 13 per cent from $5.04 billion, or 63 cents per share, a year earlier.
The company posted revenue of $22.09 billion, up 8 per cent from $20.53 billion. Adjusted revenue, which is more closely followed by analysts, was $23.56 billion, up 6 per cent from last year’s $22.16 billion. Microsoft’s earnings were above expectations, but revenue fell slightly short.
Intel
Intel Corp reported lower-thanexpected quarterly revenue due to an unexpected slowdown in growth at its data center business, on which the world’s largest chipmaker is banking to reduce its reliance on the personal computer market.
The company’s shares fell nearly 4 per cent to $35.97 in trading after the bell on Thursday.
Revenue from Intel’s highermargin data center business rose 6 per cent to $4.2 billion in the first quarter. That was less than the 9 per cent jump a year-ago and the 8 per cent increase in the fourth quarter.“I think the Street was looking for slightly better than that,” Stifel analyst Kevin Cassidy said.
Intel’s total revenue rose 8 per cent to $14.80 billion, falling short of analysts’ estimate of $14.81 billion. Net income jumped 45 per cent to $2.96 billion. Excluding items, Intel earned 66 cents per share, one cent above analysts’ estimate. — Reuters/AP