Apple CEO Tim Cook, center, watches during the inauguration ceremonies for President Donald Trump, right, and Vice President JD Vance, left, in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 20, 2025.
Shawn Thew | Afp | Getty Images
A tale of two different technology companies is playing out this earnings season as President Donald Trump‘s global trade upheaval makes planning nearly impossible.
Businesses reliant on advertising appear to be holding on for the near-term as those dependent on consumer spending have started to feel the cracks of a murky macro subjected to an ever-shifting tariff policy.
Block offered a lackluster second-quarter profit outlook in its earnings release Thursday, and said it took into account a “more cautious stance” into the end of the year. Airbnb issued disappointing guidance and said its business experienced some “softness” in travel from Canada to the U.S. toward the end of the quarter.
“In the U.S., we’ve seen relatively softer results, which we believe has been largely driven by broader economic uncertainties,” the vacation rentals company said in a letter to shareholders.
The fortress technology giants are also proving susceptible to Trump’s whims.
AppleCEO Tim Cook said Thursday that the company anticipates $900 million in added costs from tariffs this quarter, but said it’s “very difficult” to predict beyond that timeframe due to uncertainty.
He also said Apple is sourcing products shipped to the U.S. from India and Vietnam — where tariffs are lower.
“We do expect the majority of iPhones sold in the U.S. will have India as their country of origin,” he said. “Vietnam will be the country of origin for almost all iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and AirPods products sold in the U.S.”
Amazon‘s e-commerce business, which relies on many sellers that ship from China, is also beginning to feel the pressure. The company issued light guidance for the current quarter, and said “tariffs and trade policies” and “recessionary fears” were factors in its outlook.
Trump recently hiked the import duty on goods from China to 145%. Amazon is also grappling with the expiration of the de minimis loophole that previously allowed imports under $800 to enter the U.S. duty free.
Finance chief Brian Olsavsky said the company offered a wide guidance range due to tariff unpredictability.
But Amazon’s advertising business was a silver lining in the report, jumping 19% from last year. Other ad-heavy businesses also reported strong results in this macroeconomic setup, but warned of possibly tougher waters ahead.
Alphabet reported a year-over-year jump in ad revenue, but warned that the de minimis changes would “cause a slight headwind” to its ad business this year, particularly in Asia. Meta‘s ad revenues topped estimates, but finance chief Susan Li said some Asia e-commerce retailers have curbed ad spending. “
“A portion of that spend has been redirected to other markets, but overall spend for those advertisers is below the levels prior to April,” she said.
Worsening consumer sentiment isn’t just a tech problem. Airlines, restaurants and consumer retailers are also feeling the pinch.
Delta Airlines cut its growth plans for 2025 and trimmed its first-quarter guidance on weakening demand, while Chipotle Mexican Grill blamed a “slowdown consumer spending” as a reason for a decline in same-store sales.
U.S. consumers also appear less optimistic about the economy. Last month, the expectations index from the Conference Board’s consumer confidence survey fell to its lowest level since October 2011.
Board officials said the reading is consistent with a recession.
A Zoox autonomous robotaxi in San Francisco, California, US, on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Amazon‘s Zoox issued a software recall for 270 of its robotaxis after a crash in Las Vegas last month, the company said Tuesday.
The recall surrounds a defect with the vehicle’s automated driving system that could cause it to inaccurately predict the movement of another car, increasing “the risk of a crash,” according to a report submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Zoox submitted the recall after an April 8 incident in Las Vegas where an unoccupied Zoox robotaxi collided with a passenger vehicle, the NHTSA report states. There were no injuries in the crash and only minor damage occurred to both vehicles.
“After analysis and rigorous testing, Zoox identified the root cause,” the company said in a blog post. “We issued a software update that was implemented across all Zoox vehicles. All Zoox vehicles on the road today, including our purpose-built robotaxi and test fleet, have the updated software.”
Zoox paused all driverless vehicle operations while it reviewed the incident. It’s since resumed operations after rolling out the software update.
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Amazon acquired Zoox in 2020 for over $1 billion, announcing at the time that the deal would help bring the self-driving technology company’s “vision for autonomous ride-hailing to reality.” However, Amazon has fallen far behindAlphabet‘s Waymo, which has robotaxi services operating in multiple U.S. markets. Tesla has also announced plans to launch a robotaxi offering in Austin in June, though the company has missed many prior target dates for releasing its technology.
Zoox has been testing its robotaxis in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Foster City, California. Last month, Zoox began testing a small fleet of retrofitted vehicles in Los Angeles.
Last month, NHTSA closed a probe into two crashes involving Toyota Highlanders equipped with Zoox’s autonomous vehicle technology. The agency opened the probe last May after the vehicles braked suddenly and were rear-ended by motorcyclists, which led to minor injuries.
Palantir co-founder and CEO Alex Karp speaks during the Hill & Valley Forum at the US Capitol Visitor Center Auditorium in Washington, DC, on April 30, 2025.
“Some investors may be disappointed with the modest full- year revenue guidance raise, the sequential margin decline, and the international commercial revenue year-over-year decline,” wrote William Blair analyst Louie DiPalma, adding that the company’s high software multiple makes it “vulnerable” to compression as revenue growth slows.
Despite the post-earnings move, Palantir topped revenue expectations and lifted its revenue guidance for the year. The Denver-based company posted adjusted earnings of 13 cents per share on $884 million in revenues. Analysts polled by LSEG had expected adjusted EPS of 13 cents and revenues of $863 million.
Palantir’s revenues rose 39% from $634.3 million in the year-ago quarter. Net income grew to about $214 million, or 8 cents per share, from roughly $105.5 million, or 4 cents per share, a year ago. The company also hiked its full-year revenue outlook to between $3.89 billion and $3.90 billion
CEO Alex Karp said that “Palantir is on fire” and he’s “very optimistic” about the current setup during the earnings call after the bell Monday.
“The reality of what’s going on is that this is an unvarnished cacophony — the combination of 20 years of investment and a massive cultural shift in the U.S. which is generating numbers,” he said.
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Palantir has outperformed the market this year, building on a successful 2024 run in which the stock was the best performer in the S&P 500. Many on Wall Street say the surge in shares has contributed to an elevated multiple for the company, making the bar higher and higher to clear. To be sure, the stock has undergone immense volatility amid the latest batch of market volatility spurred by President Donald Trump’s tariff plans.
“While 2025 numbers move higher on guidance ahead of consensus, we question conservatism and if estimate revisions are priced in from here,” said RBC Capital Markets analyst Rishi Jaluria.
Despite the company’s strong execution and fundamentals, Mizuho’s Gregg Moskowitz also said it’s “very difficult to justify” its high multiple. Raymond James analyst Brian Gesuale said that Palantir needs to consolidate some of its gains to “grow into its rich valuation.”
Wall Street also highlighted a deceleration in international commercial revenues among the reasons for the potential decline in shares. The segment fell 5% year over year after rising 3% in the previous quarter due to headwinds in Europe.
Management said on an earnings call that the region is “going through a very structural change and doesn’t quite get AI.”
Travelers walk past a sign pointing toward the Uber rideshare vehicle pickup area at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on February 8, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images
Uber will acquire an 85% stake in Turkish food delivery platform Trendyol GO for about $700 million in cash, the company said in a securities filing.
The deal, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in the second half of this year. Uber said it expects the transaction to be accretive to its growth once completed.
“Uber and Trendyol GO coming together will elevate the delivery sector in Türkiye for consumers, couriers, restaurants and retailers, especially small and family-owned businesses,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a release. “This deal reflects our long-term commitment to Türkiye, we’re incredibly impressed with what the Trendyol GO team has built, and we’re excited to continue that strong momentum across the country.”
Founded in 2010, Trendyol GO is run by Turkish e-commerce platform Trendyol, which is majority owned by Chinese titan Alibaba. The platform hosts roughly 90,000 restaurants and 19,000 couriers across the country.
In 2024, Trendyol GO delivery more than 200 million orders and generated $2 billion in gross bookings, a jump of 50% year over year, Uber said in the securities filing.
The announcement comes as Uber is set to report first-quarter earnings before market open on Wednesday. The rideshare and food delivery company is expected to post earnings per share of 51 cents on revenue of $11.6 billion, according to StreetAccount.