Alphabet

Google parent Alphabet managed to avoid being as heavily impacted by dwindling ad money, posting revenue of $US69.7 billion, a 13 per cent year-on-year increase. Profit was down 14 per cent to $US16 billion.

Advertising growth was slow on YouTube, likely for the same reason it’s slow elsewhere; businesses around the globe are tightening their belts as the cost of everything increases. Ad revenue grew just 5 per cent over the quarter, compared with growing 84 per cent during the same period last year.

But ad spend on the Google search engine itself appeared much more resistant, growing 13 per cent to $US40.7 billion.

Apple

Apple’s revenue was up 2 per cent year-on-year at $US83 billion, with profit down 10 per cent to $19.4 billion; less of a fall than anticipated. But while the company sold more iPhones than expected, making up almost half of all revenue at $US40.7 billion, that still constitutes a significant slowing compared with years past.

Money from other products including Macs, AirPods and Apple Watches was all lower than expected and down year-on-year. The company’s services revenue grew, but not as much as in previous quarters. Apple chief executive Tim Cook told CNBC he expected revenue to accelerate in September despite “pockets of softness”.

Apple has faced problems with manufacturing after pandemic-related shutdowns of China’s factories. But with so much of its revenue tied to selling new devices, there’s also concern that wider economic issues could obliterate demand.

Still, Apple chief financial officer Luca Maestri told Reuters there was no sign of a drop-off in demand ahead for iPhones.

Microsoft

Microsoft’s strongest sectors were, unsurprisingly, to do with productivity and web services. Revenue at its cloud businesses grew by 40 per cent, and Office consumer up 9 per cent year-on-year. LinkedIn was also strong, with revenue up 26 per cent this quarter off increased advertising demand. The company’s ad business on its search and news products were up 15 per cent year-on-year.

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But other parts of the business were clearly affected by ongoing hardware shortages, including for computer chips. The revenue Microsoft makes from licensing Windows to new computers was down 2 per cent this quarter, as manufacturing continues to struggle. Hardware revenue from the company’s Xbox gaming division also fell 11 per cent, as it simply can’t make enough new consoles to satisfy demand.

Overall, the company reported revenue of $US51.9 billion (up 12 per cent) and a net income of $US16.7 billion (up 2 per cent).

Amazon

Amazon posted a revenue of $US121.2 billion, up from $US113.1 in the same period last year. But overall it lost $US2 billion, compared with a $US7.8 billion profit this time last year. It’s the company’s first quarterly loss since 2015, and largely informed by its $US3.9 billion write-down of the value of its stock investment in electric car start-up Rivian.

The company’s retail operations in the US and internationally reported operating losses, as costs rose and Amazon found itself with too many warehouses and employees relative to demand. But its AWS cloud business and ad sales picked up the slack, with 33 per cent and 18 per cent year-on-year jumps respectively.

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