TECH GIANTS BIG WINNERS IN PANDEMIC ECONOMY

The combined yearly revenue of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft is $1.2 trillion, according to a New York Times analysis of earnings figures the companies reported last week.
In less than a week, the five tech giants collect more in sales than McDonald’s does all year, the NYT noted.
During 2020’s shutdown, people used Google to do business-related research and satisfy personal curiosity on every subject. Amazon became the go-to shopping stop for even more millions of people.
Apple’s electronics became portals to the world for students and workers; Facebook kept people in touch who couldn’t meet personally; and Microsoft’s software kept business going as workers shifted from office to home.
Advertising sales usually fall when times are hard. However, the shutdown drove socializing online and advertisers scratched plans to advertise in other media and poured their ad budgets into digital platforms such as Google and Facebook. 
In contrast, in 2009, during the Great Recession, Microsoft’s stock fell to 40 percent of its earlier value; share prices for Amazon and Google also plunged by about two-thirds.
During this contraction, however, Amazon’s per-share value has risen from $2,315 in May 2020 to $3,471 on 29 April, a gain of almost 45 percent; its market value has nearly doubled since the pandemic began, now reaching about $1.8 trillion. 
Amazon’s sales in this year’s first quarter were up 44 percent year over year to $108.5 billion, including a 32-percent jump in its cloud computing service business. Pre-tax profits nearly doubled, reaching $8.9 billion, the NYT reported.
TRENDPOST: The tech sector’s windfall contrasts dramatically with other economic sectors: airlines bleed money daily, restaurant sales still lag those of 2019, and millions who lost their businesses and jobs to the shutdown may never recover them.