Good Evening! On Wednesday, stock prices saw a significant decline as investors analyzed the conflicting earnings results from Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL). Additionally, the increase in Treasury rates added further strain to the already struggling tech equities.
It was a rough day for the Nasdaq Composite because the index slid by 2.43% (marking its worst performance in eight months), while the S&P 500 fell by 1.43%. The Dow Jones was the odd one out, only falling by 0.32%.
ABCs OF EARNINGS
Shares of Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL) plummeted by 9.5%, marking the worst decline since March 2020. The Google parent company’s announcement of a profit in cloud computing that fell short of expectations was what started this decline. This has raised worries about Alphabet Inc.’s standing in a market that is crucial for its future.
- Revenue: $76.69 Billion vs. $75.78 Billion Expected
- Cloud Operating Income: $266 Million vs. $434 Million Expected
- Search Advertising Revenue: $44 Billion vs. $43.2 Billion Expected
- Earnings Per Share: $1.55 vs. $1.45 Expected
What is important about the cloud? In the field of cloud computing—where corporations rent out space on their computers and provide related software to business clients—Google has lagged well behind industry leaders Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. Startups in the AI industry have been flocking to Google Cloud ever since the company announced its first quarterly profit this year. However, its momentum was below expectations in the most recent quarter, and some are worried that Google is losing ground to its competitors.
BIGGER APPLE
Apple (AAPL) is implementing pricing increases for some subscription services, such as the streaming platform Apple TV+, in the United States and other overseas regions starting today. So let’s see those price increases:
- Apple TV+: $9.99 vs. $6.99 previous
- Apple Arcade: $6.99 vs. $4.99 previous
- Apple News+: $12.99 vs. $8.99 previous
Don’t forget! Due to the modifications, Apple One, a service that combines up to six Apple subscriptions into a single monthly payment, saw an increase in its tiered pricing structure.
- Individual Plan: $19.95 vs. $16.99 previous
- Family Plan: $25.95 vs. $22.95 previous
- Premier Plan: $37.95 vs. $32.95 previous
This is not the first time… Last year, Apple increased the rates of many of its subscription services, including Apple TV+, Apple One, and Apple Music, resulting in higher monthly fees for users. However, the price increases did not include any increases in the prices of Apple Music or its fitness subscription services.
Is this the best move? Consumers are becoming aware of this since they are increasingly canceling their subscriptions in order to counteract the rising expenses. Antenna‘s recent study reveals that there has been a surge in the cancellation of streaming services among US users. In September, a staggering 6% of all subscribers terminated their agreements, marking the highest cancellation rate on record.