The last quarter has not been kind to tech giants Apple, Amazon, and Alphabet, who have all seen their sales dip amid a tumultuous time. For Apple, this was largely due to the production delays experienced with their new iPhone 14 model, layoffs, and decreased advertising revenues. Amazon has also suffered a slowdown in its e-commerce business, and Alphabet’s Google advertising revenues have decreased.
The year 2022-23 is not all doom and gloom for the tech industry, as many companies still outperform the wider market. Apple’s shares are down 1.6 percent, Amazon’s down 3.2 percent, and Alphabet’s shares are down 4.8 percent. This is in comparison to the wider market’s 7.8 percent drop.
Analysts suggest that these tech companies are better able to weather the storm due to their relatively strong balance sheets and their long-term opportunities to benefit from the increasing digitalization of the economy. For example, Apple has seen a surge in demand for its wearable devices, such as the Apple Watch. In contrast, Amazon and Alphabet have seen significant growth in their cloud computing businesses.
Despite this, the tech giants are still feeling the pinch of the pandemic and its economic consequences. The production delays of the iPhone 14 have led to a fall in Apple’s revenues for the quarter. Amazon’s e-commerce business has also faced headwinds due to restrictions on movement. And Alphabet has seen its digital advertising business suffer due to the lack of spending by brands.
Overall, the tech giants have experienced a difficult quarter, but with the vaccine rollout underway, hopes are high that the industry will see a return to growth in the near future. Despite the temporary setback, the long-term opportunities associated with digitalization remain, and the tech giants are well-placed to benefit from this.