Tech Weekly: Markets Start May on Tightrope After Mixed Earnings

This week's tech sector performance

This week was headlined by earnings results from five of the Magnificent Seven: Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), which represent roughly a third of the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) by market cap.

The Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) and S&P 500 recorded all-time high closes early in the week, fueled by artificial intelligence (AI) optimism; however, midweek after-hours trading saw sharp divergences as investors grew sensitive to forward guidance and AI monetization timelines.

While Alphabet rose on cloud and AI‑related revenue and upbeat guidance, Meta plummeted due to rising AI infrastructure costs. Microsoft and Amazon also saw declines, but to a lesser extent.

For its part, Apple posted solid results, but traded more cautiously.

The AI trade saw further movement as Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) shares rose following reports of a potential partnership with OpenAI for a new AI-integrated smartphone. Conversely, reports that OpenAI missed internal user and revenue targets triggered a selloff in names like CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV) and Oracle (NYSE:ORCL).

Economic data showed the US economy expanding at a 2 percent annualized rate in Q1.

Business investment jumped 10 percent, with AI-related spending alone contributing 1.3 percentage points to GDP, notably exceeding consumer spending contributions.

Central banks remain cautious, with both the Bank of Canada and the US Federal Reserve holding interest rates steady. The Fed’s decision was its most divided since 1992, and Chair Jerome Powell’s hawkish tone regarding the persistence of inflation led market watchers to price in a higher likelihood of future hikes.

Canadian policymakers shared this concern, noting that rising oil prices could necessitate further tightening.

Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East remain a primary macro concern. Midweek developments involving Iran drove oil prices higher and contributed to broad volatility across global markets.

Tech stocks climbed on Friday (May 1), capping the week on a positive note after Iranian state media reported that Tehran had sent its latest proposal for negotiations with the US to Pakistani mediators on Thursday (April 30).

Positive sentiment after a robust earnings week helped the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit weekly gains of 0.91 and 1.08 percent, respectively. For the month, both indexes saw their biggest monthly percentage gains since 2020.

3 tech stocks moving markets this week

This week's top movers, according to TradingView data, were:

1. Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK)

Sandisk saw a 24.35 percent increase in its share price.

2. Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX)

Seagate Technology finished the week up 22.65 percent.

3. Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM)

Qualcomm ended the week 21.58 percent higher.

Top tech news of the week

• Mag 7 stocks Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta rolled out results on Wednesday (April 29), with Apple reporting on Thursday. The response was mixed: investors sent shares of Alphabet and Apple higher on the back of well-received numbers, while Amazon maintained a moderate gain despite scrutiny of its AI-driven capital expenditures. Conversely, Meta faced a harsh selloff as sentiment soured on its slowing revenue growth and aggressive spending plans. Microsoft also saw its shares retreat as shareholders weighed growth against the company’s massive AI-related capital allocation guidance.

• Celestica's (TSX:CLS,NYSE:CLS) Q1 earnings reached US$4.05 billion, a 53 percent year‑on‑year increase fueled by its connectivity and cloud solutions segment. Earnings per share hit US$2.16 and margins rose to 8 percent. Consequently, the company increased its annual revenue forecast by US$2 billion to reach US$19 billion. Despite these results, a market selloff ensued as shareholders opted to take profits.

• Under an amended Microsoft-OpenAI deal announced on Tuesday (April 28), Microsoft no longer has an exclusive license to OpenAI’s models through 2032, allowing OpenAI to license its newest models to other cloud providers. Additionally, Microsoft will no longer pay a revenue share to OpenAI for reselling OpenAI models on Azure. OpenAI will continue to pay Microsoft a capped revenue share through 2030. OpenAI and Amazon then announced a new phase of their existing partnership that will see OpenAI run its latest models on Amazon Web Services via Amazon Bedrock and agent‑oriented services.

• Chinese regulators ordered Meta to unwind its US$2 billion acquisition of autonomous AI agent Manus on Monday (April 27). The company bought the software from the startup Butterfly Effect in early 2026.

• Coding platform GitHub, owned by Microsoft, said it will begin charging customers additional fees for its Copilot AI coding tools on top of base subscriptions based on how much AI is used.

• Blackstone (NYSE:BX) said it will merge its growth equity business into a new unit called BXN1 that will focus on AI‑related investments, according to an internal memo seen by the Information.

• SoftBank Group (OTCMKTS:SFTBY) is reportedly planning to launch and list a US-based AI and robotics standalone company, codenamed Roze, as early as this year. The entity is aiming for a US$100 billion valuation and will utilize robotics to optimize AI data center construction.

• During its earnings call on Wednesday, Smartphone processor manufacturer Qualcomm told investors that a top hyperscaler will begin using its components later this year in data centers. CEO Cristiano Amon confirmed the firm has been working with an unnamed prospective customer, and predicted that the Chinese smartphone sector will bottom out in Q3 before returning to sequential growth in Q4.

• Citigroup (NYSE:C) introduced a new internal AI platform called Arc that allows employees to create and scale agents that can compile portfolio data, analyze broad market trends and test scenarios within a secure, centralized system. Arc will allow users to monitor agent behavior to prevent issues.

Tech ETF performance

Tech exchange-traded funds (ETFs) track baskets of major tech stocks, meaning their performance helps investors gauge the overall performance of the niches they cover.

This week, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) increased marginally by 0.77 percent, while the Invesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXQ) gained 0.56 percent.

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH) increased by just 0.1 percent.

Tech news to watch next week

Markets will open next week with the inflation story continuing to linger after the hold‑but‑hawkish message from the Fed and ceasefire talks that remain fragile and susceptible to renewed escalation.

The market will also pay attention to secondary‑tier tech and semiconductor company earnings and any guidance that hints at whether AI‑related spending is slowing or accelerating.