Technology giants Apple and Amazon have exceeded expectations with results that surpassed Wall Street predictions, capping off a significant week of earnings from the globe's most influential corporations.
Both firms delivered double-digit revenue growth and optimistic forecasts, easing investor concerns following a turbulent period for the broader technology sector.
While Apple announced a jump in iPhone sales, Amazon's recovery was powered by its cloud division, with both sets of results demonstrating strength despite tariff challenges, redundancies and speculation of an AI bubble circulating throughout Silicon Valley.
Apple's figures represent its first quarterly report since launching the iPhone 17 series, which chief executive Tim Cook described as "off the chart".
The handset manufacturer posted $102.5bn (£78bn) in revenue, an eight per cent year-on-year increase and above analyst projections, as reported by .
Meanwhile, net income reached $27.5bn (£21.4bn), nearly double the previous year's figure, which boosted Apple shares in after-hours trading.
Despite Donald Trump's latest tariffs on Chinese and Indian imports costing the company $1.1bn last quarter, Apple still achieved a record $49bn (£36bn) in iPhone sales, a six per cent increase.
Cook predicted that total revenue would climb between 10 and 12 per cent in the final quarter of the year, which is typically Apple's busiest period, fuelled by robust demand across the US and Europe.
"We expect the December quarter to be the best ever in the history of the company," he told reporters. The milestone figures arrive as Apple's market capitalisation exceeded $4tn for the first time this week, solidifying its standing alongside Microsoft and Nvidia in the trillion-dollar club.
Amazon also posted better-than-expected results after the bell on Thursday, with net sales rising 13 per cent to $180.2bn (£133bn) and net income jumping 38 per cent to $21.2bn (£15.6bn).
Yet the key catalyst was a marked recovery in its cloud division, Amazon Web Services (AWS), which expanded 20.2 per cent to $33bn (£24.8bn), its swiftest rate since 2022.
The results propelled Amazon's shares 14 per cent higher in after-hours trading, momentarily adding approximately $330bn to its market valuation.
"AWS is growing at a pace we haven't seen since 2022," said Amazon boss Andy Jassy. "We continue to see strong demand in AI and core infrastructure."
AWS, which accounts for roughly 60 per cent of Amazon's operating income, brushed off a significant outage earlier this month that affected thousands of websites.
The robust performance may indicate cloud customers are increasing AI-related expenditure once more after a period of cost restraint.
Advertising revenue also climbed 24 per cent to $17.7bn, as Amazon intensified its focus on sponsored product listings and retail advertising placements.
The encouraging update emerged despite a $2.5bn legal settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission and $1.8bn in severance expenses following 14,000 redundancies. Jassy characterised the restructuring as a "cultural reset" rather than a financial one, stating that the company needed to "return to being the world's largest startup."
However, Amazon's capital expenditure appears to be escalating. The firm anticipates $125bn in capital expenditures next year, primarily for AI infrastructure and new data centres.
"Amazon's results show a company firing on all cylinders again," commented Neil Saunders from GlobalData. "AI is fuelling growth across the business, and those investments will define its competitive edge for the next decade."
The positive reports from both companies contrast sharply with Meta's challenging week, highlighting that not all Big Tech are on equal footing. Apple demonstrates that traditional product sales still yield results, while Amazon utilises its extensive AI and cloud infrastructure to generate revenue.
As Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, said on Wednesday: "Today's AI leaders actually have earnings."
