Mixed Bag as Tech Giants Apple, Amazon and Intel Release Quarterly Results

Apple posts file income, loses floor in China

Apple reported file income of US$94.9 billion for its fourth fiscal quarter of 2024, marking a 6 p.c year-on-year enhance. Nonetheless, the acquire got here alongside a pointy 36 p.c drop in web earnings to US$14.74 billion, attributed largely to a one-time US$10.2 billion cost linked to a European tax resolution.

The iPhone section stays Apple’s largest income contributor, with gross sales rising 6 p.c to US$46.22 billion, bolstered by the launch of the iPhone 16 collection. Apple’s Companies division additionally achieved a quarterly income excessive of US$24.97 billion, pushed by progress within the App Retailer, Apple Music and Apple TV+ subscriptions.

A key space of concern for Apple, nonetheless, is its comparatively stagnant income in Larger China.

Quoting knowledge from IDC, Reuters states that iPhone gross sales in China dipped 0.3 p.c within the third quarter as rival Huawei posted a 42 p.c surge in smartphone gross sales. Apple’s market share in China has slipped to fifteen.6 p.c, permitting it to be overtaken by Huawei, which gained 4.2 p.c year-on-year.

The aggressive surroundings in China poses a crucial danger for Apple, which has been proactive in diversifying its provide chain by rising iPhone manufacturing in India and lowering lead instances globally.

Cloud and advert segments dominate in Amazon’s outcomes

Amazon introduced Q3 net sales of US$158.9 billion, an 11 p.c enhance from final yr, with web revenue rising to US$15.3 billion. Gross sales had been pushed largely by Amazon Internet Companies (AWS), which continues to draw companies in search of AI-powered cloud options. It introduced in US$27.5 billion, a year-on-year rise of 18 p.c.

The aggressive panorama for AWS, nonetheless, has by no means been more durable, as each Microsoft and Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google intensify their concentrate on AI investments and cloud infrastructure.

To match the competitors, the corporate plans to scale AWS’ AI capabilities by constructing new knowledge facilities and computing capability to satisfy rising demand from enterprise clients.

Amazon’s promoting income additionally posted a 19 p.c enhance year-on-year, signifying the division’s rising function inside the firm’s broader enterprise. As well as, the agency’s worldwide section posted an working revenue for the primary time in over a yr, pointing to a restoration in areas exterior the US.

Intel beats estimates as restructuring efforts proceed

Intel launched its Q3 outcomes because it continues a restructuring plan geared at enhancing efficiency.

Income for Intel’s knowledge middle and AI section rose 9 p.c to US$3.3 billion, outpacing analysts’ estimates, however the firm posted a US$16.6 billion web loss as a consequence of restructuring and impairment prices.

Intel has been dealing with mounting strain from NVIDIA (NASAQ:NVDA) and AMD (NASDAQ:AMD), which dominate the AI chip market in market share. Whereas Intel’s conventional PC and server chip companies have seen renewed demand, the corporate has largely missed out on the AI funding growth, which is dominated by NVIDIA’s GPUs.

Intel’s outlook for This autumn tasks income of between US$13.3 billion and US$14.3 billion, and the corporate has set bold targets to extend its capital expenditures for AI {hardware} in 2025.

Nonetheless, Intel’s gross margin for the quarter fell in need of expectations at 18 p.c, indicating that the corporate has vital floor to cowl in value administration and revenue restoration.

Regardless of these challenges, Intel’s longstanding relationships with PC producers and its ongoing funding in foundry companies provide the potential to develop its income streams.