After the Cloud Giants Reported, Earnings Season Turns to Phones and Chips
Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon posted big cloud numbers last week. This week Apple and Qualcomm take the stage — and hardware investors will be watching every line.
Last week's earnings belonged to the cloud. This week's belong to the devices in our pockets and on our desks. With Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon all having reported, attention now shifts to Apple, which holds its fiscal fourth-quarter call on Monday afternoon, and Qualcomm, which reports on Wednesday.
The cloud delivered — mostly
Microsoft reported revenue of $92.3 billion for the quarter ended September 30, up 19% from a year earlier, according to the commentary. Its cloud business grew 30% to $63.9 billion, with Azure up 48%, and contracted work not yet recognized as revenue jumped 73% to $677 billion. Diluted earnings per share came in at $4.92 on a GAAP basis, up 32%. The softer spot was devices: revenue from devices and consumer products fell 3% to $15.5 billion, with Windows OEM and devices down 22%. Microsoft shares slipped just 0.16% in the next session, closing at $530.14.
Alphabet's quarter told a similar story with a very different market verdict. Revenue rose 25% to $127.6 billion, its 13th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth, powered by a Google Cloud business that more than doubled to $30.7 billion, helped by sales of its TPU systems. But diluted earnings per share fell to $2.12 from $2.87 a year earlier, after an $8.7 billion loss on equity securities shaved $0.55 off per-share earnings. Class A shares fell 12.64% in the next session, closing at $283.82.
Amazon, reporting a day later, posted net sales of $201.9 billion, up 12%, with Amazon Web Services up 39% to $46.0 billion. Operating income rose to $28.1 billion from $17.4 billion, a 13.9% margin the company described as its highest ever. Net income was $20.7 billion, or $1.89 per diluted share, down from $1.95 a year earlier, when results included $9.5 billion of pre-tax gains from Anthropic investments. For the fourth quarter, Amazon guided to net sales of $240.0 billion to $247.0 billion and operating income of $28.5 billion to $33.5 billion. Shares closed Friday at $240.35, down 1.41%.
The spending thread running through all three
One number tied the three reports together: capital spending. Property-and-equipment additions for the quarter reached $39.4 billion at Microsoft, $51.4 billion at Alphabet and $77.3 billion at Amazon — each roughly double the year-earlier figure.
What to watch this week
Apple's call, scheduled for 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday, is its first quarterly results call since September 1, when John Ternus became chief executive and Tim Cook moved to executive chairman. The comparison point is the September quarter of 2025, when revenue was $102.5 billion, up 8%, with diluted earnings per share of $1.85. Shares closed Friday at $344.63, down 1.23%, ahead of the report.
Apple also has fresh hardware in the mix: on October 28 it introduced a MacBook Pro with a PROLED XDR display built on tandem OLED technology, bringing touch capabilities to the Mac for the first time, with availability from Friday, November 6.
Qualcomm reports its fiscal fourth quarter on Wednesday, November 4, after the close. July guidance put revenue at $9.7 billion to $10.5 billion and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share at $2.05 to $2.25. In its fiscal third quarter, ended June 28, revenue fell 4% to $9.9 billion, with handset revenue down 20% to $5.09 billion while automotive revenue rose 61% to $1.59 billion. Shares closed Friday at $164.79, down 11.12%.
Written by the BidAsk Newsroom. Based on reporting from the sources below.
