Big Tech $izzles after DC grilling

What was poised to be a bruising week for Big Tech has instead turned into a major windfall.

The biggest names in Silicon Valley reported shockingly strong profits late Thursday, one day after their bosses were subjected to intense grilling on Capitol Hill from lawmakers concerned that their power and influence have grown too large. Amazon, Apple and Facebook all saw their shares rise sharply on Friday, adding a combined $294 billion in market capitalization.

Facebook’s shares rose 8.2 percent to finish the week at $253.67 after it reported revenue growth of 11 percent in the quarter — despite a high-profile advertiser boycott that has included Nike, Starbucks and Unilever.

Apple maintained its strong sales numbers despite having closed more than 70 of its stores during the quarter, sending its shares up a whopping 10.5 percent to an all-time high of $425.04. The iPhonemaker is now worth $1.84 trillion.

Amazon’s market cap, meanwhile, was up to $1.6 trillion after the e-tailing giant left Wall Street’s quarterly expectations in the dust and surpassed earnings per share forecasts by more than $8 as its dominance over online retailing continued to expand.

The earnings served as further evidence that the companies’ automated, algorithmically optimized businesses are not only weathering the coronavirus pandemic but are thriving in it. Meanwhile, Old Economy industries like retailing and car-making falter.

“I will tell you this, it’s good that these tech giants did their hearings yesterday and not tomorrow given all these results,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives told Bloomberg Television.