Tech giants rake in £137bn in just three months

Three of America’s biggest tech firms raked in £1.5billion per day between April and June as the pandemic pushed consumers online. 

Google owner Alphabet, iPhone maker Apple and Microsoft pulled in total revenues of £136.5billion over the three month period, they revealed in results released late last night. 

Sales of Apple’s phones totted up to £28.5billion, surging almost 50 per cent, as the iPhone 12 with its ability to connect to the latest speedy 5G networks proved popular with customers. 

Cashing in: Google owner Alphabet, iPhone maker Apple and Microsoft pulled in total revenues of £136.5billion over the three month period from April to June

And revenues at its services business, which includes the App Store and Apple Music, jumped 33 per cent to £12.6billion. In total, Apple pulled in profits of £15.6billion, up 92 per cent on the same time last year. Chief executive Tim Cook said: ‘This quarter, our teams built on a period of unmatched innovation by sharing powerful new products with our users, at a time when using technology to connect people everywhere has never been more important.’ 

Over at Google and Youtube parent Alphabet, revenues hit £44.6billion, up 62 per cent, as profits climbed 164 per cent to £13.3billion. 

Advertising revenues at Google climbed 69 per cent to £36.3billion – though last year’s numbers reflected a period when Google was stricken by the pandemic, as companies pulled back on their advertising. 

Youtube, which saw usage surge while people were stuck at home during the pandemic, generated £5billion in advertising revenue, and the ‘other bets’ made £138m – up slightly on the same time last year. 

The company’s cloud computing branch, which competes with the likes of Amazon Web Services offering analytics and IT services, saw revenues rise to £3.3billion. 

Though still loss-making, the division’s operating losses of £426m were more than half those of a year ago. 

Chief executive Sundar Pichai said: ‘There was a rising tide of online activity in many parts of the world, and we’re proud that our services helped so many consumers and businesses. Our long-term investments in artificial intelligence and Google Cloud are helping us drive significant improvements in everyone’s digital experience.’ 

At Microsoft, which makes the Windows operating system used on many computers, revenues climbed 21 per cent to £33.3billion. Its own cloud business, which has been the key to its performance in recent years, accounted for £12.5billion of that – up 30 per cent. 

But the revenue it makes from licensing Windows to computer-makers fell 3 per cent. 

The results come after a tricky few months for Microsoft. The US Department of Defense announced it was pulling a lucrative 10-year contract with the tech giant, designed to modernise the Pentagon’s communications capabilities. 

But it was ditched amid accusations that pressure from then-President Trump, who was waging a feud with Amazon’s boss Jeff Bezos, meant Microsoft was given preferential treatment. 

Profits during the quarter still climbed 47 per cent to £11.9billion.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk