Emailed on July 31, 2020 in The Friday Forward

Yesterday, the Silicon Valley titans who spent Wednesday being virtually grilled by members of Congress reported earnings for the previous quarter.

In short? Those members of Congress were interrupting some of 2020’s most successful execs. 

Apple: It blew expectations out of the water despite store closures. Revenue, up 11% annually, was the highest it's ever been in Apple’s third quarter. Apple also announced a 4–1 stock split to make its shares more accessible to a “broader base of investors.” 
Google: For the first time as a public company, parent Alphabet reported a drop in sales, which fell 2% from last year as COVID dragged down ad revenue. The company still beat expectations with help from YouTube and other units. 
Amazon: The company spent over $4 billion on safety, PPE, extra cleaning, and what it calls “thank you bonuses” for workers but still managed to bring in $5.8 billion in profits last quarter. Revenue grew 40% annually. 
Facebook: It also reported a sound beat on revenue, earnings, and user growth, indicating the downturn in ad spend during the pandemic wasn’t much of an obstacle. But FB did cite July’s advertiser boycott as one reason why it projects slightly lower revenue in the current quarter.