You're listening to Markets Desk, and here's where things stand.
Meta is taking a hit after-hours, with shares sliding as much as ten percent following a quarter where costs ballooned fifty-five percent year over year. Operating income fell eight percent, net income dropped fourteen, and Zuckerberg offered few concrete details on a rumored cloud push — leaving investors to wonder whether AI ambition is quietly eating the business alive.
Across the aisle, Microsoft told a very different story. Azure crossed one hundred billion dollars in annual revenue, with cloud growth running at forty-three percent year over year in the fiscal fourth quarter. Overall quarterly revenue came in at ninety billion, above analyst expectations, giving the market a reminder that not every big tech spender is losing the plot on returns.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve held rates steady, even as borrowing costs hit a nineteen-year high. The Fed is standing pat despite mounting inflation concerns tied to geopolitical tensions, including fears that a broader conflict involving Iran could deliver a fresh price shock. The central bank appears willing to hold the line, but the bond market is clearly not at ease.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
