Amazon, Apple poised to add $170 billion after resilient results

Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. are set to add nearly $170 billion in market value Friday after they joined technology peers Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft Corp. in assuaging investor concerns by reporting higher revenue even as consumers curb their spending amid rising inflation.

Amazon shares jumped as much as 12% on Friday, their biggest move since Feb. 4, while Apple advanced 3.6%.

Amazon expanded both its e-commerce and cloud-computing businesses, with Bloomberg Intelligence analysts noting that the company’s performance proves that “it is better positioned to weather inflationary pressures and benefits from a more-affluent customer contrary to Walmart.”

Meanwhile, Apple beat analysts’ revenue expectations thanks in part to higher iPhone sales at a time when global smartphone shipments are falling globally. To be sure, Apple reported an 11% decline in net income, however, the overall results were better than feared.

“Apple appears to be seeing no meaningful impact on its iPhone business in the current macro environment,” Piper Sandler analyst Harsh Kumar wrote in a research note. Also, restrictions on production in China eased at the end of the quarter, which “allowed some pent-up demand to be met,” he said.

Through Thursday’s close, shares of both companies have risen 15% in July. Amazon is poised for it largest monthly advance since April 2020, while Apple is on course for its biggest monthly gain since August of that year.

Alphabet and Microsoft rose 0.4% and 0.6%, respectively.