Apple shares jump despite rollercoaster week for tech

Apple’s sales fell more than analysts predicted during the holiday quarter, slammed by slack purchases of iPhones and Macs. Picture: Yui Mok/PA Wire

Apple was among the global tech giants that delivered disappointing earnings this week as the sector weathers an economic slowdown, but shares rallied by more than 3% on Friday.

Apple, Amazon, and Google parent company Alphabet shares rose this week following a difficult year and a harrowing quarter due to a slump in e-commerce sales and digital advertising. 

The shares momentum followed Facebook owner Meta’s surprisingly positive results, which improved the sentiment among investors.

However, in after-hours trading following their quarter-earnings results, Apple, Amazon and Alphabet shares fell more than 3%.

The overall stock market losses have been of record proportions in the last year. Big Tech was battered throughout 2022, trailing the S&P, which dropped nearly 20%.

Apple’s sales fell more than analysts predicted during the holiday quarter, slammed by slack purchases of iPhones and Macs.

Amazon’s revenue was trimmed by soft consumer demand for products sold online and slowing growth in a once-booming business that provides remote computing power to companies.

Alphabet’s results missed estimates after customers curtailed orders for ads that appear alongside online search results.

“The war in Ukraine, inflationary pressures, economic uncertainty and macroeconomic headwinds kept the consumer sentiment weak in 2022 while smartphone users reduced the frequency of their purchases,” said Harmeet Singh Walia, a senior analyst at Counterpoint Research.

It all reflects the first downturn in over a decade for the tech titans which employ many thousands of people in Ireland.

Fears of recession in the US and Europe, fuelled by interest rate hikes, have led to stock market falls and also the loss of about 100,000 tech jobs across the globe.

For example, cloud computing giant Salesforce will cut about 200 Irish jobs as part of its global plans to cut 10% of its total workforce.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy zeroed in on the company’s efforts to slash costs, reversing the massive ramp-up in hiring and spending prompted by the boom in online commerce that accompanied the pandemic.

Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat also told investors the company would “meaningfully” slow the pace of hiring this year. 

• Reporting by the Irish Examiner, Bloomberg, Reuters