Maybe McDonald’s Isn’t Failing After All, Plus Amazon Made $25 BILLION Dollars Last Quarter

Markets Wake From Slumber

• It was massive gains all around for U.S. stocks yesterday—and you can thank positive housing and unemployment data. Existing home sales staged a healthy rebound last month and applications for unemployment benefits continued to hover near their 42 year lows.
• European markets jumped to the positive side as well. Why? The European Central Bank’s rate announcement definitely helped (more on that in a second), along with a series of strong earnings reports from a number of major European companies. The only downside: the announcement caused the euro to drop 2 percent against the dollar.

Rates Aren’t Changing Again?

Let’s take a closer look at the ECB’s big announcement: European Central Bank President Mario Draghi disclosed yesterday that interest rates will remain at zero (sound familiar?). But it doesn’t stop there: he also commented that the ECB is considering tacking on more stimulus to its already-in-place stimulus program, in a potential double-down maneuver. This all comes as a result of very low Eurozone inflation and a stubbornly slow economic recovery—here’s to hoping our friends across the pond get well soon.

Big Mac is Back

McDonald’s is finally back in the game, reporting 0.9 percent growth in same-store sales—its first quarterly increase in two years. McDonald’s attributed the rise to changes in at-home operations, but the introduction of all-day breakfast options, buttermilk crispy sandwiches (our mouths are already watering) and the use of higher quality ingredients certainly didn’t hurt. However you spin it, the company’s new, more customer-oriented business approach had investors convinced, and shares surged 8.1 percent to an all-time high.

Amazon…Profitable?

Amazon may have a history for growing at a loss, but not this quarter. With large revenue contributions from Amazon Prime and Amazon Web Services, the e-retailer handily topped analyst expectations with positive earnings of $25.4 billion, its second straight quarter of profitability. The strong report sent shares rocketing nearly 10 percent after hours on Thursday and left analysts wondering what’s ahead for the increasingly diversified (and increasingly controversial) company.

Microsoft Gains Momentum

The strong tech vibes rubbed off on old establishments too: Microsoft edged out Wall Street predictions with revenues of $20.4 billion. Despite a decline in demand for PCs, the continued growth of Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing service and the recent introduction of Windows 10 have both helped the company regain momentum, and shares responded appropriately, jumping nearly 7 percent.

Alphabet Hits the Big Time

Make it three for three: Alphabet Inc., the newly-minted parent company of Google, strolled past earnings expectations and jumped 10 percent after hours in the process. The good news came from significant advertising sales growth (where else?) from both YouTube and the Google search engine. Investors also remain fans of Alphabet’s more transparent financial reporting standards, meaning it’s now much easier to determine which divisions are bringing home the dough and which are sucking resources. Now with its stock price at an all-time high, Alphabet is here to stay.