• Apple reported second fiscal-quarter earnings Thursday that beat expectations.
• Amazon reported better-than-expected results for the first quarter.
• U.S. stocks advanced Thursday, boosted by jumps in Meta Platforms and Microsoft.
• The U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged a "tariff exclusion process" on all small business importers.
• Nvidia blasted Anthropic and said firms should not "tell tall tales."
• Rallies in Microsoft and Meta have reignited enthusiasm over artificial intelligence.

For the quarter that ended in March, Apple and Amazon reported top- and bottom-line numbers that beat analysts' expectations, joining their fellow "Magnificent Seven" counterparts Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta Platforms on the podium. (Tesla's long-promised full self-driving is still in the process of helping the electric vehicle company cross the line.)

That said, the financial results of both Apple and Amazon had some weaknesses under the hood. Apple's Services division, which comprises offerings such as advertising, iCloud and Apple TV+, fell short of estimates. That matters because it's the second-highest revenue generator for Apple, trailing only its iPhone division. As for Amazon, its cloud division — the largest cloud provider in the world — failed to meet revenue expectations for the third time in a row, suggesting growth is slowing.

CEOs of both companies also flagged the challenge in predicting how tariffs will affect not just the current quarter, but also the year ahead. Despite the excitement shown by investors over Microsoft and Meta — as seen in rallies in those companies' shares Thursday — potholes still exist for Big Tech's road ahead.

Note: C온라인카지노사이트 Daily Open will be away on May 5, Monday, for the holiday in Singapore. The newsletter will return May 6, Tuesday.

What you need to know today

Apple's Services earnings missed expectations
reported Thursday that . However, the company's closely watched Services division fell short of estimates, and CEO Tim Cook said it's "very difficult" to predict the impact of tariffs beyond June. Separately, Apple said it would appeal after a court found that that came out of the Epic Games trial.

Cloud growth at Amazon slows
  . But revenue at Amazon Web Services , a third straight revenue miss. The company issued light guidance, noting that "tariffs and trade policies" and "recessionary fears" could cause its forecast to change. Still, CEO Andy Jassy said he's "optimistic" the company could .

Big Tech stocks boost U.S. indexes
, boosted by jumps in and shares after the companies reported rosy earnings. The gained 0.63%, the added 0.21% and the tech-heavy climbed 1.52%. The U.K.'s  rose a fractional 0.02% to , its best run since 2017. Most other European markets closed for the May 1 holiday.

Request for 'tariff exclusion process'
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce to immediately implement a "tariff exclusion process" in order to prevent a recession. The group asked that the process apply to all small business importers and on all products that "cannot be produced in the U.S." White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller suggested the Trump administration is not considering the request, and said tax cuts will support small businesses.

'Focus on innovation': Nvidia to Anthropic
On Wednesday, Amazon-backed Anthropic said in a blog post that  tactics involved chips hidden in "prosthetic baby bumps" and "packed alongside live lobsters." A spokesperson , saying that "American firms should focus on innovation and rise to the challenge, rather than tell tall tales." U.S. chip export restrictions are set to take effect May 15.

[PRO] Is Big Tech back?
A pair of strong earnings reports from Microsoft and Meta appears to have reignited and may be, at least temporarily, pushing tariff worries from investors' minds. However, some market watchers think .

And finally...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has made tens of billions of dollars in recent years from his stake in the chipmaker, but he's getting his first salary increase in a decade.

Huang's base salary rose to $1.5 million, a 49% increase from 2024, according to a  with the SEC on Thursday. His variable cash also went up by $1 million, or 50%, from the 2024 fiscal year. Stock awards grew to $38.8 million, bringing total pay to $49.9 million.

The compensation committee "believed this was appropriate in consideration of internal pay equity with the base salaries" of other top executives, the filing said, and "it represented Mr. Huang's first base salary increase in 10 years."