Big Tech’s Q1 2025 earnings are in and, while there were pretty positive numbers to report, investor reactions were a bit muddled. Here’s how the major players performed.
Apple (Score: Neutral)
Apple’s Q1 revenue rose 5% year-over-year to $95.4 billion, beating analyst expectations and marking another solid quarter.
While Apple’s ad business is still a small portion of overall revenue, services—which include advertising—hit a record high. That said, maybe the ad portion grows greater as the company continues to invest in and sharpens its focus on its ad business.
Even with the earnings beat, Apple’s stock fell nearly 4% after hours, as investors responded to cautious guidance mostly centered around growth in key markets like China.
Microsoft (Score: Good)
Microsoft reported revenue of $70.1 billion, up 13% year-over-year and ahead of expectations, with strong performance across cloud and AI.
Advertising also performed well, with search and news ad revenue up 18%, and LinkedIn ad revenue grew 10%. Total ad revenue over the past year exceeded $20 billion (!).
Investors welcomed the results, with Microsoft’s stock surging nearly 8% in after-hours trading.
Meta (Score: Good)
Meta’s Q1 revenue jumped 16% year-over-year to $42.3 billion, beating analyst expectations.
Advertising remains Meta’s core business (even if they pretend it’s not), bringing in about $41 billion this quarter. Ad impressions rose 5%, average price per ad climbed 10%, and AI tools like Advantage+ drove efficiency. Also, over 4 million advertisers now use Meta’s gen AI ad products as the company works to be more of an agentic AI partner.
Meta’s stock climbed nearly 5% after earnings.
Amazon (Score: Neutral-ish)
Amazon posted Q1 revenue of $155.7 billion, up 9% year-over-year.
Advertising was a standout as revenue grew 19% to $13.92 billion, nearly 9% of total sales. Growth was fueled by ads on Prime Video—now reaching over 200 million viewers—and strong performance in sponsored product ads.
Still, the stock dipped about 2% after hours. Investors focused on a cautious Q2 outlook and broader economic concerns, including tariffs (which Amazon is especially affected by).
Snap (Score: Bad)
We’ve seen this story before: Snap’s Q1 revenue rose 14% year-over-year to $1.36 billion and daily active users hit 460 million.
Advertising drove most of the growth, with direct-response ads accounting for 75% of ad revenue and an expanding advertiser base. However, the company cited macroeconomic uncertainty and declined to offer Q2 revenue guidance.
The lack of forward visibility spooked investors, sending Snap’s stock down over 12%.
Netflix (Score: Good)
Netflix’s Q1 revenue rose 13% year-over-year to $10.54 billion, beating Wall Street expectations. The company no longer reports subscriber counts, instead emphasizing growth fueled by higher pricing and member gains.
Advertising is gaining ground as ad revenue doubled year-over-year, with the ad-supported tier accounting for over half of new sign-ups in available markets. Netflix also launched its in-house ad tech platform in the U.S. on April 1 and is expanding programmatic globally.
Investors responded well, with shares up 4–5% after hours and hitting new all-time highs on the back of strong results and upbeat guidance.
Google/Alphabet (Score: Good)
Alphabet’s Q1 rose 12% to $90.2 billion, all above analyst forecasts. Growth was broad-based, with Google Search, YouTube, subscriptions, and Cloud all delivering double-digit gains, and the company highlighted strong momentum from AI-powered products like Gemini 2.5 and AI Overviews.
Advertising remains the core of Alphabet’s business, generating $66.9 billion in Q1-an 8.5% year-over-year increase. Google Search & other ad revenue climbed 10% to $50.7 billion, led by strength in financial services and retail, while YouTube ad revenue grew 10% to $8.9 billion, driven by both direct response and brand campaigns.
The market reacted positively, with shares jumping nearly 5% in after-hours trading after the earnings call.
Why This Matters:
Advertising remains resilient, bolstered in part by continued AI adoption. Video-focused platforms like Netflix, Google (YouTube), and Amazon are performing well, suggesting CTV ad spend may hold strong. Still, it’s early in the year, and recession concerns could shift the outlook. Tariffs, unsurprisingly, pose a bigger challenge for hardware-heavy businesses.
Experts React:
Not necessarily an expert in the traditional way we do these, but the headline says a lot:
Our Take:
It’ll be worth watching how adtech-specific and independent adtech companies perform. More on that in the coming days.
