5 US IT giants all increase sales, 2 companies including Alphabet decrease profits - July-September period

[Silicon Valley Current Affairs] The financial results of five large US IT companies for the July-September period of 2026 were released on the 2nd. Although all companies achieved increased revenue compared to the same period last year, two companies, Google's parent company Alphabet and Amazon.com, saw a decline in profits. Amid renewed concerns about huge investments in artificial intelligence (AI), there have been a number of positive statements about accelerating investment.

Four US IT giants increase sales and profits, Meta's profits decline due to increased AI investment - April-June period

Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft (MS) are three companies whose cloud businesses have grown significantly on the back of strong corporate demand for AI. In terms of individual business sales, Alphabet's sales doubled compared to the same period last year, Amazon's sales increased by 39%, and MS's sales increased by 48%.

Meanwhile, Alphabet's net profit fell 25% due to losses related to its holdings. In addition, results fell short of market expectations due to factors such as slowing growth in the company's mainstay paid search advertising. Amazon's profit also fell by 2% as a result of the huge non-operating income recorded last year, and according to US media, capital investment in areas such as AI infrastructure was higher than market expectations. The stock prices of both companies plummeted immediately after they announced their financial results, partly due to concerns about recovering their huge investments in AI.

Still, the appetite for AI investment remains undiminished. "We will spend more in 2027 because we expect attractive returns," Amazon CEO Jassy said in a conference call. Alphabet also predicted that "capital investment will increase significantly" in 2027.

Meta (formerly Facebook) recorded a record high in quarterly sales due to strong use of its personal AI agent ``Muse'', which autonomously performs tasks for humans. The company also said it would "continue to actively invest in AI."

Apple achieved increased sales and profits due to strong sales of its flagship smartphone, the iPhone. However, the soaring prices of memory semiconductors around the world weighed down performance.