Today’s Market Update
July 30, 2020
Portfolio Update
The “Big 4”
This has been the week of the “Big 4”. One day after Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google were grilled by Congress, today they all announced their recent quarterly earnings after the market’s close. The “emperors of the online economy” were questioned hard for hours yesterday over concerns they may be stifling competition and hurting consumers. Leading up to the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee, some said it could have been a “pay-per-view event”. The tech titans and Congressional questioners certainly provided a first-ever episode and made for great TV. In another sign of the times, the House committee was required to wear masks when not speaking as the four CEO’s answered challenging questions remotely and separately from a video teleconference.
Today was earnings day for the Big 4 as the 2Q2020 earnings season is upon us. These four companies are called the Big 4 for good reason, as they represent over 30% of the weighting of the Nasdaq Composite index. Truly a massive foursome of trillion dollar companies. They will be even bigger tomorrow. As I write this note, they all announced strong results for the quarter, beating earnings expectations and trading higher in after-hours. Apple sparked the most excitement, announcing a 4-for-1 stock split. Today’s reports have been well received.
I continue to reiterate the strength of the new economy companies vs. the old. These four are beneficiaries of the stay-at-home new norm. Earnings do matter, and the Big 4 keep on delivering.
Please call if you have any questions. I am happy to help.
John