Of the top tech firms, Alphabet seems to be the most threatened as there are reports that the authorities may force the splitting of Google to shrink its outright dominance in the search engine and advertisement niche.
It’s the season of financial earning releases and the top tech U.S. firms have reported a profitable quarter but sounding a cautious note on future performances as a result of the resurging cases of the coronavirus pandemic and its potential economic implications. The top tech firms including Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN), Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB), and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL) all released their better than expected earnings on Thursday according to a Bloomberg report, and all
For Facebook (FB), the company grew its advertising revenue by 22% year-over-year at $21.221 billion as against the $17.383 billion reported in the third quarter of 2019. The firm’s Diluted Earnings Per Share (EPS) came in at $2.71, an increment of 28% from the $2.12 reported the year-ago period. Despite this boosted performance, the company gave a modest forecast and limited overall expectations for the 2021 financial year as a result of the menacing impacts of the resurging coronavirus diseases particularly in its major markets: the US and Canada.
For the quarter ending September, Apple reported revenue of $64.7 billion against the expected $63.70 billion. Also, the EPS was marginally higher at 73 cents per share against the expected 70 cents. Despite the company’s earnings being below general expectations amid a 20% drop in iPhone sales for the quarter, the company’s expected performance in this current quarter may see a boost in the sales of the iPhone 12 series with embedded 5G technology in a few days following the launch of the smartphones. Apple also remains one of the biggest earners of the year.
Alphabet Inc grew its revenues in the past quarter signaling a comeback in digital advertisement amid recovery efforts by businesses. The firm’s ever-relevant search engine Google has continued to attract new businesses who seek to increase their online visibility as business focus tilts to the digital ecosystem.
Amazon can be tagged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the digital transformation the coronavirus ushered in. The Jeff Bezos led firm however saw a dip in its cloud computing business, the Amazon Web Services, the development which sent the company’s shares down by about 1.63% in the pre-market. Amazon is also cautious to give a forecast for the last quarter of 2020 as it noted that the pandemic may affect sales during the holiday season.
Antitrust Slams on Top Tech Firms
The consistent growth these top tech firms have experienced in the past years bordering on their earnings and acquisition record has not only ignited an antitrust hearing involving the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust but has also sparked series of legal cases being filed by the Department of Justice.
Of the top tech firms, Alphabet seems to be the most threatened as there are reports that the authorities may force the splitting of Google to shrink its outright dominance in the search engine and advertisement niche. Either way, the big four companies may have more than just the coronavirus to deal with in the near term as the authorities are onto them all.
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Benjamin Godfrey is a blockchain enthusiast and journalists who relish writing about the real life applications of blockchain technology and innovations to drive general acceptance and worldwide integration of the emerging technology. His desires to educate people about cryptocurrencies inspires his contributions to renowned blockchain based media and sites. Benjamin Godfrey is a lover of sports and agriculture.
