- Weak financial performance due to strong market headwinds hit tech companies hard
- Meta was one of the biggest loss-facers after its ad revenues took a hit
- Apple, however, beat market estimates to post strong quarterly numbers
After a season of weak earnings posted by US tech majors, most of the companies took a major hit to their financials. Meta, the owners of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, was most likely the largest loss-maker — with its total valuation falling by over 20%, or $90 billion. However, the one company that appears to have bucked the trend is iPhone maker Apple, which has seen its shares rise 6% since posting its earnings late last week. Now, according to a report by Business Insider, Apple is worth three of its rivals — Google owner Alphabet, e-commerce behemoth Amazon, and Meta — combined.
The Business Insider analysis from Thursday, November 3 said that while Apple was worth $2.307 trillion (almost Rs 195 lakh crore, for context), Alphabet ($1.126 trillion), Amazon ($940 billion) and Meta ($240 billion) combined to account for the same market valuation as that of Apple. The move goes to show the level of disparity even among the world’s biggest tech companies, and how diversely placed each are with their business.
Apple and its market strength
It is interesting to note that Apple managed to buck the trend of falling valuations of tech firms. Meta and Alphabet, for instance, are majorly entrenched in digital ads and information technology services to bolster their revenues. Amazon, meanwhile, relies on consumer spending to drive growth.
With major global headwinds from macroeconomic concerns hitting consumer and enterprise spending, both retail and digital advertising were on the decline over the September quarter. This, as a result, took an obvious toll on the tech behemoths who have built their businesses on the above factors.
Apple, on the other hand, covers products of various categories as well as services, and sees September as a pivotal quarter where its new iPhone is launched. With strong sales during this quarter, it is typically an indication of strong demand for its devices. However, Apple’s growth globally is coming not solely off iPhones, but more importantly, its Mac lineup of laptops and desktop PCs.
A Strategy Analytics report from earlier this week on global PC shipments pegged Apple as the only brand in the list of the top seven PC vendors in the world that posted growth in its shipments. Apple has spoken of an increasing number of PC partnerships among enterprises, which has helped it grow its business.
