#1GOOGL — Alphabet Blows Out Q1 With 63% Cloud Growth, Shares Jump ~7% After Hours
Alphabet reported Q1 EPS of $5.11 vs. $2.62 expected and revenue of $109.9B vs. $107.2B consensus — a massive beat driven by Google Cloud revenue surging 63% YoY to $20.03B (vs. $18.05B est.). Cloud backlog nearly doubled to $462B. Net income of $62.6B included a $36.9B gain on equity securities, but even ex-gains the operating beat was substantial. Capex guidance raised to $180–190B from $175–185B. CEO Pichai said the company is "compute constrained" and cloud revenue would have been higher if they could meet demand.
Source: Yahoo Finance — https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/alphabet-q1-2026-earnings-google-202101883.html
#2META — Meta Sinks ~5% After Hours Despite Q1 Beat as Capex Balloons to $125–145B
Meta beat with EPS of $7.31 (vs. $6.78) and revenue of $56.31B (vs. $55.45B), up 33% YoY — its fastest growth since 2021. But shares dropped ~5.3% after hours as the company raised full-year capex guidance to $125–145B (from $115–135B) citing higher component pricing, and daily active users of 3.56B missed the 3.62B estimate. Q2 revenue guidance of $58–61B straddled the $59.5B consensus. Free cash flow fell to $12.39B as AI spending accelerates.
Source: Benzinga — https://www.benzinga.com/markets/earnings/26/04/52152899/meta-platforms-tops-expectations-in-q1-shares-slide-as-company-raises-2026-capex-guidance
#3AMZN — Amazon Crushes Q1, AWS Growth Hits 15-Quarter High at 28%
Amazon delivered EPS of $2.78 vs. $1.64 expected and revenue of $181.5B vs. $177.3B — a blowout. AWS revenue of $37.6B grew 28% YoY, its fastest pace in 15 quarters, at a 37.7% operating margin. Amazon's custom chips business (Graviton, Trainium, Nitro) exceeded a $20B annual run rate growing at triple digits. Bedrock processed more tokens in Q1 than all prior years combined (+170% QoQ customer spend). Despite the beat, shares slipped ~3% after hours on $44.2B in Q1 capex (up from $25B YoY) and compressed free cash flow.
Source: Yahoo Finance — https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/amazon-q1-2026-earnings-beat-203149838.html
#4MSFT — Microsoft Q3 Beat With Azure +40% and AI at $37B Run Rate, But Margins Compress
Microsoft posted EPS of $4.27 (vs. $4.06) and revenue of $82.89B (vs. $81.39B). Azure grew 40%, topping the ~39% consensus. AI business hit a $37B annual run rate, up 123% YoY. Copilot 365 seats reached 20M+ (from 15M in Jan). However, gross margin fell to 67.6% — lowest since 2022 — due to data center depreciation. Full-year capex now guided at $190B. Shares were down ~1% premarket as investors weighed the margin pressure against growth.
Source: Yahoo Finance — https://finance.yahoo.com/sectors/technology/article/microsoft-tops-q3-estimates-says-ai-business-up-123-year-over-year-211358311.html
#5Fed Holds Rates at 3.5–3.75% With Most Dissent Since 1992
The FOMC voted 8-4 to hold rates steady — the first four-member dissent since October 1992. Markets sold off ~1.4% during Powell's press conference as he underscored uncertainty from the oil shock and said the US had not made as much progress on inflation as hoped. The divided vote and hawkish tone add to the macro overhang on growth/AI stocks that depend on favorable capital cost assumptions. This is Powell's final meeting as Chair.
Source: CNBC — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/29/fed-interest-rate-decision-april-2026.html
#6ORCL/NVDA — OpenAI Missed Revenue & User Targets, Hammering AI Infrastructure Names
A WSJ report on April 28 that OpenAI fell short on revenue and user targets ahead of its IPO sent shockwaves through AI infrastructure plays. SoftBank (committed $60B to OpenAI) fell 10% in Tokyo, Oracle dropped 4%, CoreWeave sank 6%, and Nvidia slid ~3%. OpenAI's spokesperson called it "clickbait" and said the business was "firing on all cylinders." The Nasdaq fell ~1% on the day. The selloff raised questions about downstream AI capex sustainability.
Source: Yahoo Finance — https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/tech-stocks-slide-following-report-142230679.html
#7META — China Blocks Meta's $2B Acquisition of AI Startup Manus
China's National Security Commission blocked Meta's $2B bid for Manus, a Singapore-based (originally Chinese) AI agent startup, citing Anti-Monopoly Law and technology-leakage concerns. The decision was elevated beyond economic regulators to Xi Jinping's NSC. Immediate META stock impact was minimal (~+0.5% on the day), but the move signals accelerating US-China AI decoupling and may chill future cross-border AI deals. China followed up by announcing broader restrictions on US funding in local tech firms.
Source: CNBC — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/27/meta-manus-china-blocks-acquisition-ai-startup.html
#8CAT — Caterpillar Pops ~5% Premarket on Q1 Earnings as AI Data Center Demand Surges
Caterpillar reported strong Q1 results driven by AI data center construction and power generation equipment, with shares up ~5% premarket. Its Power & Energy segment — now its largest division — has been supercharged by data center power demand. The company ended the year with a $51B order backlog (+71% YoY) and is investing $725M to expand large-engine capacity for data center power. It's up 41% in 2026 and has become a de facto AI infrastructure play.
Source: Seeking Alpha — https://seekingalpha.com/article/4888371-caterpillar-the-hidden-ai-infrastructure-play-wall-street-is-finally-pricing-in-and-its-not-too-late
#9AAPL — Apple Q2 Earnings Today With CEO Transition Looming
Apple reports Q2 FY2026 after the bell today. Analysts expect EPS of ~$1.91–1.96 and revenue of $109.66B. Key focus: AI monetization progress, services growth (monthly spend now $13/user), and management commentary under the shadow of Tim Cook's announced September 1 departure, with hardware SVP John Ternus taking over. Apple is down ~1% YTD and needs to show its AI strategy can compete with the massive infrastructure bets from its Mag 7 peers.
Source: Seeking Alpha — https://seekingalpha.com/article/4893612-apple-earnings-preview-q2-2026
#10SMCI — Super Micro Expands AI Server Portfolio, Mizuho Cuts PT to $25
Super Micro launched new Arm-based servers and Open Compute Project systems and announced a 32.8-acre, 714K sq ft Data Center Building Block campus — its largest US location. However, Mizuho cut its price target to $25 from $33 while maintaining a Neutral rating. SMCI is down ~10% YTD and 27% over 52 weeks, trading at just 0.58x sales vs. sector average of 3.48x. Earnings due May 5 will be a key test.
Source: Benzinga — https://www.benzinga.com/markets/tech/26/04/51761757/supermicro-stock-rallies-as-ready-to-ship-ai-servers-aim-to-slash-lead-times
👀 Watch Today: AAPL reports after the bell — the first major earnings under the CEO-transition narrative. Any soft commentary on AI or tariff impacts could drag the broader tech tape. Also watch how META and AMZN trade at the open after their mixed after-hours reactions; Meta's 5%+ drop on capex fears vs. Amazon's blowout AWS numbers will set the tone for AI infrastructure sentiment heading into NVDA's next report.
