While many are calling 2020 the "worst year ever," it's becoming the best one on record for big tech companies. Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and Alphabet, Google's parent company, have all reported record-breaking quarterly sales and/or profits this week, MarketWatch reports. Apple reported record revenue of $64.7 billion for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2020 despite a slowdown in iPhone sales. CEO Tim Cook said the shift to working and learning from home during the pandemic helped the company sell more MacBooks and iMacs than ever before. "The move to remote working and work from home will not go back to normal," he said, per USA Today. "Normal will end up being something different."
Amazon reported record sales and a 200% rise in profits Thursday, per the New York Times, while Alphabet recorded its highest-ever profit and Facebook reported record revenue despite an ad boycott early in the summer. Microsoft reported a record profit Tuesday. The four companies had a combined net profit of $38 billion for the quarter. "The scene that’s playing out fundamentally is that these tech stalwarts are gaining more market share by the day," Dan Ives, managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities, tells the Times. "It’s A Tale of Two Cities for this group of tech companies and everyone else." The AP notes, however, that with the outlook for the companies still very uncertain, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook shares fell in after-hours trading despite the strong results. (More tech sector stories.)
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