Shares of Apple (AAPL) and Amazon.com (AMZN) declined in after-hours trading on Thursday following disappointing forecasts, despite a significant jump in tech-related stocks earlier in the day. Apple’s stock was down 4% after the bell as CEO Tim Cook announced that estimated tariffs would add approximately $900 million to costs in the June quarter if rates remained unchanged. The company also revealed changes to its supply chain to mitigate the impact of the ongoing trade war. Amazon’s shares fell 2.5% after the company reported first-quarter cloud revenue growth and forecasted operating income below analyst estimates. During the regular trading session, U.S. technology stocks surged following stronger-than-expected results from Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META). Microsoft’s shares ended 7.6% higher after the company reported that AI contributed 16 percentage points to Azure growth in its fiscal third quarter, up from 13 percentage points in the previous quarter. Meta Platforms’ shares rose 4.2% higher as its AI-powered tools demonstrated strength in attracting advertising revenue despite economic uncertainty. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 1.5% on the day, with AI-focused companies like Nvidia (NVDA) and Broadcom (AVGO) also seeing gains of 2.5% each. Amazon ended the regular session up 3.1%, while Apple closed 0.4% higher. The technology sector’s performance was seen as a positive sign for investors concerned about the economic impact of tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Despite the group’s rebound since Trump paused some tariffs on April 9, investors remain cautious. Jake Dollarhide, CEO of Longbow Asset Management, noted that while Apple faces challenges, he remains optimistic about large-cap tech stocks overall due to strong results from other companies in the sector.
