Highlights of the week: bigtech reports, Trump's duties and Figma's debut

Trump's new duties caused a collapse on the first day of August in markets that were in euphoria after reports from the largest US tech companies. Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta beat analysts' expectations on earnings and revenue, despite some weak segments. At the same time, the luxury sector is still in crisis: Hermès shares sagged despite sales growth, while Kering is facing a 25% drop in Gucci revenue and a growing debt load. The Fed kept rates unchanged and Donald Trump criticized Jerome Powell again. The main events from July 28 to August 1 - in our review. 

U.S. markets finished in negative trading on Friday, August 1. The main U.S. stock index, the S&P 500, fell 1.6 percent, the strongest drop since May 21, reported CNBC. The Dow Jones blue-chip index lost 1.2 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite index of technology stocks fell the most, down 2.2 percent. The Russell 2000 small-capitalization companies index decreased by 1.8%. Europe's Stoxx 600 index fell 1.9%.  The CBOE Volatility Index, better known as the Wall Street Fear Index, exceeded the 20 level, which typically indicates increased market turbulence. 

The selloff was triggered by Donald Trump's new trade duties Donald Trump's new trade duties, as well as data on U.S. nonfarm payrolls that came in worse than expected.

The U.S. President announced a series of new trade duties - ranging from 10% to 41% - on more than 60 countries, they will go into effect on August 7. The highest duties are set for Syria (41%), Laos and Myanmar (40%), Switzerland (39%), Iraq (35%) and Serbia (35%). A fee of 20% is set for Taiwan. The document notes that a base duty of 10% will be applied to all countries that have not received the new duties.

What to read about it?"

- For more on what was happening in the markets on Aug. 1, see online Oninvest's "Trump's new duties caused markets to crash, 'fear index' soars 25%: online".

Apple published its fiscal third quarter report on Thursday, July 31, beating analysts' forecasts for earnings and revenue, reported CNBC. The company's total revenue added 10%, its best quarterly result since December 2021 and more than Wall Street expected. Earnings per share (EPS) came in at $1.57 - up 12% from a year earlier. That figure also beat forecasts of $1.43. 

"This was an exceptional quarter across the board," said Apple CEO Tim Cook. 

Apple reported revenue growth in all markets, including China, up 4.3% to $15.4 billion. iPhone remains the company's key business, with sales of the gadget up 13% year-over-year to $44.58 billion for the quarter. Cook attributed the strong result to the popularity of the new iPhone 16, sales of which "grew by double digits" compared to the smartphone of the previous series.  

Tim Cook also said that the U.S. duties caused Apple to incur a loss of $800 million. However, this is lower than the company's own expectations - it predicted $900 million. In the fourth, current quarter, if there are no changes, the duties could cost Apple about $1.1 billion, Cook said. The company also forecasts total revenue growth in the mid to upper single digits (mid-to-high single digits, i.e., 5% to 9%) in the fourth quarter, despite the duty-related costs;

What to read about it?"

- More details from the report and what Wall Street is saying about it in article by Oninvest editor Rinat Tairov, "Apple has best revenue growth in more than three years: duties fuel iPhone demand."

Amazon's strong report for the second quarter was better than analysts' expectations for earnings and revenue. Compared to a year ago, earnings per share rose by a third to $1.68, while revenue added 13.4% to $167.7 billion, while the consensus forecast predicted $1.33 billion and $162.1 billion, respectively. The online retailer's sales for the quarter totaled $61.4 billion - consumer demand was stronger than previously estimated, even amid macroeconomic risks, Wedbush analysts said.

However, after report the stock fell more than 8% in the Aug. 1 premarket: Amazon's third-quarter operating profit forecast for its AWS cloud division came in below expectations at $15.5 billion to $20.5 billion versus consensus of $19.5 billion.AWS earned $30.8 billion in the second quarter, slightly above expectations. Despite this, Amazon gave a confident outlook for the next quarter - plans for revenue in the range of $174 billion to $179.5 billion were above market expectations. 

At the same time, Wall Street embraced with excitement Microsoft's quarterly report, and especially the unexpectedly rapid growth of its Azure cloud division: its revenues grew 34% in fiscal 2025 to more than $75 billion. Following the report, Microsoft's capitalization temporarily surpassed $4 trillion in trading on July 31.

What else is there to read about it?"

- Why do analysts advise buying Amazon shares despite the selloff? Opinions gathered by Oninvest correspondent Victoria Sirota in material  "Great Buying Opportunity": what they say on Wall Street after Amazon's report.

- The reaction of leading investment banks to the report Microsoft was collected by Oninvest   Venera Sayfutdinova in article "Mic drop effect from Microsoft report: analysts raised targets and expect growth of shares".

The second-quarter 2025 report from Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook and Instagram, also came in stronger than market expectations for both revenue and earnings. The company provided an optimistic outlook for the current quarter, confirming steady growth in its advertising business, a key source of revenue. This means Meta will be able to continue to support its investments in artificial intelligence.

The company's revenue grew 22% year-on-year to $47.52 billion, 6% higher than analysts' forecast. Earnings per share were 20% higher than expected at $7.14 versus $5.92, while advertising revenues totaled $46.56 billion against a forecast of $43.97 billion. At the same time, Meta's total expenses for the quarter increased to $27.08 billion, up 12% year-over-year.

"This quarter's strong results were largely due to AI, which has significantly improved the efficiency and profitability of our advertising system," noted CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Meta has revised its revenue forecast for the third quarter: it is now expected to be in the range of $47.5 billion to $50.5 billion, above previous market expectations. The AI race forced the company to increase the lower end of its annual capital expenditure forecast from $64bn to $66bn, keeping the upper end at $72bn. The 2025 spending forecast was also raised slightly to $114bn - $118bn. Meta warned that revenue growth in the fourth quarter is likely to slow down compared to the third quarter.

What else to read?"

- Oninvest  columnist Roman Kutuzov wrote about how Mark Zuckerberg is going to reduce the gap between his company and its competitors in the field of AI and why he needs a laboratory of "superintelligence" in material "Blood Transfusion: How and Why Meta "sucks" talent from the market;

President Donald Trump sharply criticized Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on social media, calling him "LIKE A LOT MORE Evil, LIKE A LOT MORE DIRTY, and LIKE A LOT MORE POLITICIZED" to hold his position, Bloomberg reports. He accused Powell of "costing [the U.S.] TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS" and said the Fed building renovation under his leadership is one of the "most incompetent or corrupt in the history of construction."

A day earlier, the Fed kept the key rate unchanged for the fifth consecutive time, despite Trump's numerous calls for a rate cut. Although the decision was in line with economists' expectations, the Fed's decision was not unanimous: two members of the Open Market Committee disagreed - the first time since 1993.

At a press conference following the meeting, Powell said more time was needed to assess the impact of Trump's duties on inflation and the economy, and noted that inflation was still a concern. Powell also declined to comment on the U.S. president's criticism, noting the importance of the Central Bank's independence. He emphasized that any decisions would depend on the body of incoming data.

What else to read?"

- Oninvest correspondent Victoria Sirota wrote how the market reacted to the Fed's decision and what investors should be prepared for in her article "The US Fed kept the rate for the fifth time in a row. Two FOMC members were in favor of a cut."

Even positive quarterly results didn't save Hermès shares from a fall: the stock lost 4.7% amid investor concerns about the company's overvaluation. Hermès sales rose 9% in the second quarter, beating forecasts of 8.9%, and its unique model of limited production of iconic handbags such as Birkin and Kelly continues to support demand even amid the downturn in China. Sales in that region, which accounts for about 45% of Hermès' revenue, rose 5.2%, better than analysts' expectations. At the same time, LVMH's sales in the region fell 9% and Gucci's fell 25%.

Despite geopolitical tensions and trade duties, the company has maintained current forecasts, Hermès Chairman Axel Dumas said. He noted that Hermès has no plans to raise prices in the U.S. for now, following a 5% increase in May.

Against that backdrop, Kering is in a clear crisis. Sales of flagship brand Gucci, which accounts for nearly half of the group's sales, plummeted by 25 percent to €1.46 billion in the second quarter Wall Street analysts had forecast €1.47 billion, написала The Wall Street Journal. Total group revenue fell 15%  to €3.7 billion, while analysts had forecast €3.96 billion, CNBC noted, citing LSEG data. 

The company is also facing a growing debt load and problems in the creative team: Gucci already has its second designer in three years. Current creative director Demna Gvasalia, who previously headed Balenciaga, has not yet presented his first collection. Investors are worried about the loss of appeal of the group's key brands Gucci and Saint Laurent, as well as deteriorating results across all regions, including Asia and Japan. "Yes, the current performance is far from our real potential, but we are confident that the ambitious efforts of the past two years have created a solid foundation for the next phase of Kering's development," Kering chief Francois-Henri Pinault is quoted as saying in a statement accompanying the report.

What to read about the luxury market?"

- Why luxury manufacturer Kering hired former Renault top manager Luca de Meo wrote journalist Peter Kiryan in the article "Stranger in a fashion house: why the owner of Gucci hired a CEO from a car company".

- The unexpectedly fast growth of the Chinese economy in the second quarter became a rare reason for optimism and gave investors hope for the recovery of the luxury segment. When to expect it is in the material "China's Q2 economy beat forecasts. Why is this good for the luxury market?".

Shares of Figma, a developer of a service for user interface design, rose 250% in the first trading after its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange on July 31. This result analysts called unique: never before has a company with a listing of more than $500 million seen its shares end the first day of trading with a threefold increase, said Renaissance Capital analyst Matthew Kennedy.

Trading began mid-day at $85 a share, with the IPO price at $33. Trading was halted several times due to volatility, wrote Yahoo Finance. Figma and its shareholders raised $1.2 billion in the IPO by offering 36.9 million shares.

Figma's success is an encouraging signal for startups that have so far refrained from going public due to unstable market conditions and uncertainty in the stock market. Ранее Figma withdrew from a $20 billion sale to Adobe over antitrust objections from European regulators. 

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor