The secrets of big tech

AMERICA’S TECH giants make ungodly amounts of money. In 2021 the combined revenue of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft reached $1.4trn. These riches come from a wide and constantly expanding set of sources, from phones and pharmaceuticals to video-streaming and virtual assistants. Analysts expect the tech quintet’s combined sales to surpass $340bn in the first three months of 2022, around 7% more than in the same period last year.

In a quarterly ritual that kicked off on April 26th, when the big five started reporting their latest earnings, the staggering headline numbers again hit headlines. Alphabet unveiled revenues of $68bn, up by 23% compared with a year ago, though slowing advertising growth saw net profit dip to $16.4bn. On the same day Microsoft announced revenues of $49.4bn, up by 18%, and net profits of $16.7bn. A day later Meta revealed sales of $27.9bn with net profits of $7.5bn. Amazon and Apple reported after The Economist was published.