Finance & Accounting

Tech Giants Report Mixed Q4 Earnings Amid AI Investment Surge

Leading technology companies released their fourth-quarter earnings reports this week, revealing a complex picture of growth driven by artificial intelligence investments alongside challenges in traditional business segments.

While cloud computing and AI services showed impressive gains, hardware sales and advertising revenue faced headwinds.

Microsoft reported a 15% increase in Azure revenue, with AI services contributing to roughly 8 percentage points of that growth. CEO Satya Nadella emphasized the company's position as the "AI platform of choice for enterprises."

Google parent Alphabet saw its cloud division turn profitable for the third consecutive quarter, though YouTube advertising growth slowed to single digits. The company announced plans to invest $30 billion in AI infrastructure over the next two years.

Amazon's AWS division exceeded expectations with 18% growth, while its retail segment faced margin pressure from increased logistics costs. The company is accelerating its rollout of AI-powered warehouse robotics.

Meta Platforms surprised analysts with stronger-than-expected Reality Labs losses, as the company doubles down on its metaverse vision despite investor skepticism.