Amazon shares eye record high ahead of a predicted bumper earnings season for Big Tech

Amazon shares hit a record high last night, ahead of a record season for Big Tech that could generate profits of more than £90 billion.

Shares of the e-commerce and cloud computing giant rose more than 1 percent to a high of $187.29 before closing at $185.19.

That put Amazon within striking distance of its record close of $186.57 in July 2021.

Rivals including Facebook owner Meta, Microsoft and Nvidia have all hit record highs in recent weeks.

The rally comes as the so-called Magnificent Seven stocks – Alphabet, Apple, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Tesla and Nvidia – prepare to release quarterly results.

They are expected to post sales totaling £360 billion and profits of £92 billion.

The period covers the first three months of 2024 for all but Nvidia, with the first quarter covering the three months to the end of April.

But while the Magnificent Seven all delivered great returns last year, the first quarter of 2024 saw a stark difference in fortunes.

Shares in chip designer and artificial intelligence (AI) specialist Nvidia have already risen by around 75 percent this year, after more than tripling in value last year.

By contrast, Tesla shares are down about 30 percent after doubling last year.

Ahead of the approaching earnings season, Tesla announced last week that it delivered 386,810 new cars in the three months to the end of March – a decline of 8.5 percent compared to the same period last year.

That was the first annual decline in four years and sent shares tumbling as investors worried about what could be a dismal set of results later this month.

Tesla’s problems have caused CEO Elon Musk to lose his position as the richest man in the world.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, he ranks fourth with a fortune of £143 billion after being overtaken by LVMH boss Bernard Arnault with £177 billion, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos with £164 billion and now Mark Zuckerberg, whose wealth is £ 148 billion after a nearly sixfold increase in Meta’s share price in the past 18 months.

Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities said: “Big Tech is flexing its muscles as the strong grow stronger with another robust earnings season on deck.”