Google, Apple disappoint as tech earnings hit by gloom

The tech titans posted earnings as shares in Meta skyrocketed a day after it reported better results than expected and signaled spending and job cuts. The results follow weeks of unprecedented layoff rounds in the usually unassailable tech sector amid pessimism about the economic outlook. "Big Tech calls from Apple, Amazon, and Alphabet painting a much different picture of demand environment than the tech bears were hoping for," tweeted Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, referring to investors who believe shares are on a downward path. Apple sales were hit by curtailed production at factories due to China's zero-Covid policy that was only recently lifted. The Big Tech earnings dump came a day after Meta said quarterly sales dropped one percent, which beat expectations, and announced that the number of daily users on Facebook hit two billion for the first time.