Tech giants Microsoft and Meta have reported strong first-quarter results, surpassing analysts’ expectations and offering some reassurance to investors amid broader economic uncertainty, Al Jazeera reports.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced a net profit of $16.64 billion, or $6.43 per share, representing a 35% year-over-year increase. Revenue rose 16% to $42.31 billion, exceeding Wall Street estimates of approximately $41.4 billion.
Microsoft also posted positive results, with a net profit of $25.8 billion, or $3.46 per share, an 18% increase compared to the same period last year. The company reported revenue of $70.1 billion, a 13% year-over-year rise, also exceeding analyst forecasts.
Both companies highlighted the role of artificial intelligence (AI) as a significant growth driver. Meta has integrated AI tools into its advertising business, a primary revenue source, while Microsoft reported robust growth in its cloud computing sector.
These results follow a similar report from Alphabet, Google’s parent company, which announced better-than-expected quarterly revenue of $90.23 billion last week. Alphabet has also made significant investments in AI.
The positive performance from these tech giants comes amidst a period of market volatility. The market value of the top seven US tech companies experienced a decline earlier this year.
Concerns about the broader economic outlook remain, with the US economy contracting by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2025, according to the US Department of Commerce.
In an earnings call, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated the company is “well-positioned to navigate the macroeconomic uncertainty” of recent months. Meta recently released a standalone AI app, MetaAI, and plans significant capital expenditure to expand its data center infrastructure.
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