Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Google all witnessed soaring profits in the latest quarter as the tech giants find new industries to dominate.
Six details:
- Amazon's net sales increased 27 percent to $113.1 billion in the second quarter, compared to $88.9 billion in the second quarter of 2020. Its operating income also increased from $5.8 billion in the second quarter of 2020 to $7.7 billion in the second quarter of 2021, according to a July 29 news release.
- Even with such high numbers, it was the first time Amazon has missed revenue expectations in three years. Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky blamed tough year-over-year comparisons because its business skyrocketed during COVID-19 lockdowns, CNBC reported.
- During the second quarter, Amazon Web Services made Amazon HealthLake generally available for healthcare companies. The HIPAA-eligible service uses machine learning to analyze and extract medical data from unstructured data, such as clinical notes or medical images, the release said.
- Microsoft's second-quarter sales hit $46.2 billion, up 21 percent from the year prior. The results surpassed analyst expectations, The New York Times reported.
- Apple reported its profits spiked 93 percent to $21.7 billion, compared with the same quarter in 2020. Sales rose 36 percent to $81.4 billion, also exceeding analysts' expectations, the Times reported.
- Alphabet, Google's parent, profited $18.5 billion for the quarter. It made in one quarter more than it did in years as recent as 2015. The Times reported that analysts were not expecting such rapid growth. Google CEO Sundar Pichai cited an increase in online activity as the source of such a large jump in profits.