- Meta and Amazon shares soared in premarket trading Friday.
- The Big Tech giants’ gains came after they posted stellar results for the last three months of 2023.
- Apple had a rougher ride, dipping 3% ahead of the opening bell as sales in China disappointed.
Meta Platforms and Amazon are set to add more than a quarter of a trillion dollars to their combined valuations on Friday as the Big Tech stocks soared in premarket trading.
Meta shares were up 17% at 5 a.m. ET, putting the Facebook and Instagram owner on track for a $170 billion increase in its value at the opening bell. Amazon will add $110 billion in market cap if its 6% gain holds.
Friday’s $280 billion increase in the value of “Magnificent Seven” stocks is more than the entire value of companies including Netflix, Coca-Cola, Bank of America, McDonald’s, Disney, and Nike.
Their stellar end to the week came after Meta and Amazon both posted strong results for the last three months of 2023.
Mark Zuckerberg’s “Year of Efficiency” cost cuts helped Meta’s profits to triple year-on-year, and it announced the first dividend of 50 cents a share and a $50 billion stock buyback.
Meanwhile, Amazon’s revenue and earnings-per-share for the quarter came in ahead of Wall Street’s expectations as CEO Andy Jassy touted the impact of a “record-breaking holiday shopping season.”
“These results show that tech is about more than just AI at the moment,” Kathleen Brooks of XTB told Business Insider. “Meta got A-stars across the board — that’s rare for them, and issuing a dividend makes this a double-whammy of good news for investors.”
Apple disappoints
Meta and Amazon’s stellar results looked set to boost the market more widely. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.6% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 1.1% ahead of the opening bell, with investors awaiting January’s jobs report.
Big Tech rival Apple’s stock looked set for a weaker day, however.
Shares in the iPhone maker slipped 2% in premarket trading after sales in China fell short of analysts’ forecasts despite quarterly earnings beating expectation. Those losses will wipe out $70 billion in market cap if they hold up to the opening bell.
Meta had already climbed 12% year-to-date before Friday, and is up 109% over the past 12 months, while Amazon was up 4% and Apple was down 3%.
