All-time highs for Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta as investor confidence in AI and tech fuels stock market rally
The share prices of Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta – five of the six US-based firms valued at over $1 trillion – all rose by at the least 1.2% on Friday, setting recent valuation records for all five firms.
The rallies also helped the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite smash valuation records, with the indexes gaining 0.5% and 0.9%, respectively.
The rallies are thought to have been partly driven by fresh US jobs data, which revealed higher-than-expected unemployment figures. In theory, this trend will support the case for rate of interest cuts, which tends to favor public firms.
Nevertheless, ever-increasing confidence in tech and AI stocks is probably going also a key driver. So, although these tech stocks have already hit recent highs, they likely still offer investors more upside potential this yr.
Microsoft
Microsoft stock hit a recent high of $467.56 on Friday. The stock is now up almost 24% YTD and over 40% previously yr. In late April, the software giant beat estimates with its fiscal third-quarter report card, thanks largely to its growing cloud computing business.
Several analysts are positive on the stock, including Citigroup, Truist Securities and Tigress Financial. The stock has a median price goal of $556.67, an upside of about 19% from the present market price.
Going ahead, we consider Microsoft’s continued push into AI will drive its stock to recent highs. Microsoft was an early investor in AI and has progressively introduced AI features to lots of its products. The corporate also invested $1 billion in ChatGPT developer OpenAI back in 2019.
Apple
Apple stock surged to a recent high of $226.34 on Friday, beating its previous high of $221.55. The stock has gained almost 17% YTD and over 30% previously three months.
Apple beat Wall Street’s estimates with its fiscal second-quarter earnings, and likewise raised its quarterly dividend and stock buyback plan. But what now?
The iPhone maker still has a number of aspects that might push the stock to recent highs this yr, similar to improving sales in China and its intelligent AI strategy.
Alphabet
Alphabet’s stock hit a recent high of $190.60 Friday and is now up almost 35% YTD. In April, the corporate posted its first-quarter report card, with earnings and revenue easily beating analyst estimates. The search engine giant also announced its first-ever dividend.
Alphabet’s capital spending has jumped significantly in the previous couple of quarters, but that is to be expected, as many of the investment is diverted toward AI. This yr, the corporate has announced several upgrades for Google search, with most powered by artificial intelligence (AI), similar to video search and travel planning
Moreover, despite a jump in capital spending, Bank of America estimates Google’s free money flow to almost double to $118 billion in 2026, up from $69 billion in 2023.
Amazon
Amazon stock rallied 1.2% Friday to hit a recent record valuation. The stock is up over 30% YTD and over 55% previously yr.
In April, the e-commerce giant exceeded expectations with its first-quarter earnings and sales, and going forward, the stock is predicted to keep up this trend. Amongst the explanations for this are robust retail growth, impressive performance of the corporate’s digital promoting business and growing operating income.
Meta
Meta stock hit a recent high on Friday of $539.91, surpassing its previous better of $531.49. The stock has gained over 52% YTD and over 80% previously yr.
In April, the social media giant beat analyst expectations for each sales and earnings, but the corporate gave a lighter-than-expected sales forecast for the present quarter.
Despite this, the stock is predicted to perform well owing to a variety of aspects, including the introduction of generative AI-based promoting features, impressive historical growth and optimistic analyst expectations.
Do you have to spend money on these tech stocks?
All five of those tech stocks have demonstrated strong bullish trends and robust fundamentals that may drive their share prices up within the near future. Continued growth and innovation across the technology sector, especially inside the AI space, also bode well for these tech stocks.
Nevertheless, while these stocks show positive momentum, the approach of earnings season implies that a cautious approach from investors could also be clever.