Apple, Google and Microsoft report booming profits as demand for devices, cloud services surges

Google's total revenue in the quarter of 2021 increased 62 per cent, to $61.88 billion

Technology firms Apple, Google and Microsoft reported on Tuesday combined profits of more than $50 billion in the second quarter of the year as the pandemic continued to push consumers to upgrade their devices, seek cloud storage, and spend more of their time online.

The three tech giants currently have a combined market capitalisation of $6.4 trillion - more than double the value when the coronavirus pandemic started about 16 months ago.

Apple announced that it profits almost doubled to $21.7 billion (£15.6 bn) in the quarter ending 30 June, driven by growth in iPhone sales, as well as increase in demand for digital subscriptions for its TV and music streaming services. The company's revenue in the second quarter grew 36 per cent, year-over-year, to $81.4 billion.

"This quarter saw a growing sense of optimism for consumers in the United States and around the world, driving renewed hope for a better future," Apple chief Tim Cook told a conference call.

"We're only in the early innings of 5G, but already its incredible performance and speed have made a significant impact on how people can get the most out of our technology," he said.

Google's parent company Alphabet's quarterly profit nearly tripled to $18.5 billion, thanks to a surge in spending on online advertising and cloud services.

The company's video platform YouTube saw ad revenue leap to $7 billion in the quarter, compared with $3.81 billion a year ago.

The company claims its TikTok-like YouTube Shorts have been a huge success, seeing 15 billion global daily views - more than double from 6.5 billion in March 2021.

Google's search revenue increased to $35.8 billion in the second quarter, nearly $4 billion higher than Q1 2021.

The company's total revenue was up 62 per cent, year-over-year, to $61.88 billion.

Alphabet chief Sundar Pichai acknowledged the "rising tide of online activity" for the results, adding that the company was proud that "our services helped so many consumers and businesses".

Ruth Porat, chief financial officer, said that record-high revenues reflected "elevated consumer online activity" as some countries now start to recover from the pandemic.

In March, Alphabet said that it planned to invest more than $7 billion in US offices and data centres and create about 10,000 new jobs across 19 states in 2021.

Microsoft on Tuesday reported fiscal fourth-quarter (ending 30 June) profits of $16.5 billion, up 47 per cent year-on-year, thanks to increased demand for its software, games and cloud services for remote work and study.

The company also topped Wall Street forecasts by reporting revenue of $46.2 billion for the fiscal fourth quarter, up 21 per cent compared to the same period a year ago.

Analysts were expecting the company to earn revenue of around $44.1 billion during April - June period.

Growth in sales of Microsoft's cloud services and its Office productivity software outpaced overall revenue growth.

In April, the software giant had reported net income of $15.5 billion for the quarter ending 31 March, on revenue of $41.7 billion.