Magnificent Seven earnings show Microsoft, Google and Amazon leading the AI pack
Notes and observations from the Magnificent Seven earnings releases and investor conference calls.
Apple investors were upbeat after the tech behemoth’s earnings call for two reasons. First, iPhone sales are recovering and on track to return to growth next quarter. Just as importantly, CEO Tim Cook signalled that the company’s secretive generative AI exploits would not be under wraps for much longer.
“We believe in the transformative power and promise of AI, and we have advantages that will differentiate us in this new era,” Cook said on the earnings call Friday morning, “including Apple’s unique combination of seamless hardware, software and services integration.”
It’s the latest hint that Apple is likely to unveil AI features at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, where it typically shows off its niftiest software updates. It comes at a critical time in AI’s lifecycle as the much-hyped tech makes the jump from potential to profitable.
The past two weeks saw Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta and Tesla all report quarterly earnings; of the "Magnificent Seven" only Nvidia remains. The filings cleave a divide between how AI is being adopted, showing how AI is making a significant impact on companies that facilitate AI development – but not yet on those actually doing the development.
