Skepticism about AI was evident in the market reaction to the earnings reports of major tech stocks this quarter. The tech giants' post-earnings performance diverged. Meta, after giving disappointing quarterly revenue guidance and recording its lowest free cash flow in years, plunged as much as 8% in after-hours trading, signaling a surge in expenses due to AI bets. On the other hand, Microsoft's stock closed nearly 16% higher after earnings, adding $450 billion to its market capitalization in a single day, marking the largest single-day gain for an individual stock. The catalysts were the fastest growth in its cloud business in four years and the company's signal that it would control new capital expenditures this year. Amazon's stock closed 15% higher after earnings, with the company reporting optimistic cloud revenue growth at a four-year high, easing market concerns about the returns on its massive AI spending. Bob Lang, founder and chief options analyst at Explosive Options, said that investors will eventually tire of the endless spending of mega-corporations, so it's not surprising to see a company boosted by restrained spending.
Stocks related to the global AI supply chain, as well as companies that support or adopt AI technologies, also appear to be regaining favor.
