📈 Big Tech Miss Earnings

Good Morning!

This week, the S&P 500 hit a 5-month high with a bang, thanks to exceptional results from Meta. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite skyrocketed by 3.25%, reaching its highest level since September.

But not all companies were feeling the love this week. Apple, Alphabet and Amazon released their earnings reports and results were... mixed. Apple reported its Q1 earnings, missing the mark on both revenue and earnings and causing its shares to take a 3% nosedive. Alphabet also reported Q4 results and missed the mark, leading to a 4% hit on its stock.

On a brighter note, Amazon had a solid holiday shopping season, but its shares still took a dip in after-hours trading due to the slowdown in AWS growth.

Residential Real Estate news that actually helps you (Sponsor)Tired of scouring the Internet to find real estate news you can trust? Check out The Blueprint.

Every Tuesday and Friday, experienced real estate agents James Harris and David Parnes take the most important stories in the industry and break down what they should mean to you.

James & David know all about the business because they worked their way up from the bottom. They moved from London to Los Angeles with nothing, door-knocked the most expensive homes in Beverly Hills, and eventually sold a $125M mansion. Last year alone, they sold $1B in real estate.

Thinking of becoming a realtor? Want to make money off short-term rentals? Find out where smart investors are buying up homes? Subscribe to The Blueprint.

Markets

S&P 500 advances to its best level in five months as Meta leads tech-fueled rally (5 minute read)The S&P 500 hit its 5-month high with a bang on Thursday, thanks to stellar results from Meta. Tech stocks, which caused market turmoil last year, are now leading the charge. The broad market index rose 1.47% to its best level since August, while the tech-savvy Nasdaq Composite skyrocketed 3.25% to its highest level since September. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.11%, due to a weak outlook from Merck, despite beating analysts' expectations.

Dollar perks up as traders await U.S. jobs numbers (4 minute read)The dollar jumped higher on Friday, maintaining its steam from its previous leap after central banks in Europe made some key decisions. The markets were taking a break and waiting for the U.S. employment data to drop later in the day, which could shake up Fed policy. The dollar picked up against the euro, sending it down 0.1% to $1.09 in the early European market. Despite its stumble, the euro still held its ground well above the 20-year low of $0.953 set in September.

European markets pull back as investors watch economic data, earnings (6 minute read)European markets took a slight dip this morning as investors tried to make sense of central bank decisions, economic stats, and company earnings reports. The Stoxx 600 index dipped 0.1% by midday, trimming its earlier losses. Autos took a hit of 1.1%, while oil and gas bounced back with a 0.8% gain. The European Central Bank raised interest rates by 50 basis points and promised to do the same in March, determined to control inflation. The Bank of England also increased rates by half a percentage point as expected.

Investing

Apple misses Q1 earnings expectations as iPhone sales fall short (2 minute read)Apple reported its Q1 earnings on Feb. 2 and, oops, missed the mark on both revenue and earnings. Wall Street expected $121.1 billion in revenue, but Apple only brought in $117.1 billion. iPhone sales took a dive, dropping 8% YoY. As a result, Apple shares took a 3% nosedive right after the report. November and December were tough for Apple, with COVID lockdowns and worker protests at Foxconn's facility in Zhengzhou, China causing some major headwinds.

Alphabet misses on earnings and revenue as YouTube falls short (4 minute read)Alphabet missed the mark on earnings and revenue when it reported Q4 results on Thursday. Its stock took a 4% hit after hours, wiping out some of the 7.28% gains from normal trading. Revenue was $76.05 billion, falling short of the expected $76.53 billion. The company announced plans to take a hit of $1.9 billion to $2.3 billion in Q1 2023 due to layoffs of 12,000 employees, and estimated $500 million in costs from reduced office space. They also warned of potential real estate charges in the future.

Amazon posts solid sales but softer cloud growth (6 minute read)Amazon had a solid holiday shopping season with sales exceeding expectations at $142.2 billion, a 9% increase from 2021. Despite the good news, shares dipped in after-hours trading due to the slowdown in growth for its cloud computing division, AWS. AWS operating income slightly declined from the previous year and sales growth slowed to 20% from 40%

Money

Rolling Over Leftover 529 Funds Into A Roth IRA: Who Really Benefits? (11 minute read)529 plans are top-notch for transferring wealth to future generations, specifically for education. The SECURE Act 2.0 now allows rolling over unused 529 funds to a Roth IRA tax and penalty-free. A common question asked is whether to contribute to a Roth IRA or a 529 plan for college expenses. The smart choice is to contribute to both, if eligible. The Financial Samurai explores the benefits.

🐥

Best of Twitter

🧠

Wisdom Of The Week

Thanks for reading, if you enjoyed, tell your friends!

P.S: If you're interested in crypto and web3 - check out our new newsletter, The Crypto Journal!