Amazon shares surge 11% after earnings while Apple slipped 8% in the US markets

United States technology giants Amazon and Apple saw their stock prices move in opposite directions after announcing their results today, on 31 July (Friday) as the market opened higher near the end of a volatile week, AFP reported.

Shares of Amazon surged 11% due to growth in its cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) and chips divisions; while Apple shares fell 8% after the company's forecast disappointed investors, despite also topping estimates.

According to a Bloomberg report, the iPhone maker's drop is its biggest since April 2025 and dragged the broader market. At the top of the sell-off were concerns that component shortages weigh heavy on the company's sales forecast, it added.

Amazon, Microsoft show AI spending to continue

Another Bloomberg report noted that aggressive expenditure on AI by banner names including Amazon, Alphabet (Google's parent) and Microsoft — also among the world's largest cloud computing providers i.e. hyperscalers — has shown investors that demand for chips and related equipment will continue to remain strong.

• Amazon yesterday increased its forecast for full-year capex to $220 billion from $200 billion, with CEO Andy Jassy saying that most of this will go towards AI.
• Meanwhile, Microsoft also confirmed its capex forecast, absent the impact of an accounting change.
• Alphabet raised its spending outlook, and
• Meta Platforms increased the low end of its guidance for capex.

Getting investors on board with the idea is “good news” for companies engaged in chipmaking, networking gear and other technology used in data centers after recent fears over potential spending slowdown had weighed on shares of those companies.

Outlook ‘brightening’ for AI, data centre players

Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Kunjan Sobhani and Oscar Hernandez Tejada noted that the outlook for the coming year is brightening. “With most large hyperscalers raising or reiterating capital spending plans in their earnings commentary, the likelihood of upside to 2026-27 consensus for computing and networking chipmakers is growing,” they said in a note.

Both Amazon and Microsoft got good responses to their earnings and plans for cloud computing, even while investors were less impressed by Meta, Alphabet and today Apple. Here, the big concern is that large spends have no clear payoff.

Ken Gawrelski, an analyst at Wells Fargo & Co. told Bloomberg that increasingly investors are looking for returns. “Go back 12 to 18 months ago, it was about how much could you spend and how much capacity could you bring online. Now the market has pivoted, and is rightly focused on the return on investment,” he added.

(With inputs from Agencies)