Earnings reports surprise: Who won and who lost in Silicon Valley?

Silicon Valley 's tech giants have released their second-quarter 2025 earnings reports after several months of layoffs and investments in artificial intelligence.

While Microsoft and Apple were among the winners of this quarter, Samsung, which recently signed a comprehensive chip deal with Elon Musk, was seen to be bleeding.

BIGGEST WINNER: MICROSOFT

Microsoft, which cut its headcount and laid off thousands of people while trying to save money by citing its investments in artificial intelligence data centers, emerged victorious from the second quarter of 2025.

The tech giant's market capitalization surpassed $4 trillion for the first time on Thursday, a historic milestone on the stock market. This made Microsoft the second company to surpass that threshold after Nvidia, known for its artificial intelligence chips.

Microsoft's achievement of this level is largely due to the fact that it exceeded expectations in its 2025 fiscal year report. The report revealed that Azure, the cloud service recently integrated with the company's AI goals, generated more than $75 billion in revenue.

Microsoft shares rose rapidly after the report pleased investors.

APPLE ALSO EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS

Alongside Microsoft, another company that showed strong performance was Apple.

According to the company's second-quarter data, iPhone sales generated $44.58 billion in revenue. This represents 13% year-over-year growth for the iPhone. Services revenue was $27.42 billion, Mac revenue was $8.05 billion, and iPad revenue was $6.58 billion.

The Mac division was the fastest-growing category, growing by 15 percent. However, Apple's revenue appears to have been impacted by tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. Apple CEO Tim Cook stated that the company incurred $800 million in costs in the second quarter due to these tariffs.

However, the company's recent decline in China sales is also notable for a recovery. According to the report, the tech giant's sales in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan increased by 4 percent to $15.37 billion.

Amazon also increased revenue

Jeff Bezos' Amazon also saw strong performance across all its business units, exceeding expectations with revenue of $167.7 billion.

The company's earnings per share were $1.68, compared to expectations of $1.32.

ALPHABET HAS PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED

Google's parent company, Alphabet, announced its earnings results on July 23. The tech giant reported a 14 percent year-over-year increase in revenue of $96.43 billion and a 19 percent increase in net profit of $28.2 billion.

While Google Search revenue rose to $54.19 billion, it was announced that YouTube ad revenue increased by 13 percent compared to the previous year, reaching $9.80 billion.

Aggressiveness in Artificial Intelligence Saved the Meta

One of the most anticipated tech companies in its second-quarter results was Meta. The parent company of Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook had recently begun aggressively developing its AI lab. This effort sparked controversy by lucrative offers to acquire engineers from companies like OpenAI.

Meta was also a winner, according to second-quarter data. The company's revenue exceeded expectations by 6.26 percent, reaching $47.5 billion. Earnings per share also exceeded expectations, reaching $7.14.

WHY DID SAMSUNG'S REVENUE DECLINE?

South Korean tech giant Samsung recently signed a roughly $16 billion chip deal with Tesla, the electric car company run by tech billionaire Elon Musk. This news was interpreted as a "lifeline from Musk to Samsung" because its recent performance had worried investors.

The company's revenues declined in the first half of 2025. Some analysts attribute this to the company's weak performance in the chip sector. According to second-quarter data, the company's operating profit fell by more than 50 percent compared to the same period last year, reaching approximately $3.37 billion.