Microsoft, Meta Surge on Earnings; Tesla Denies Musk Ousting Report; US-Ukraine Natural Resources Deal

Tech Earnings and Market Performance

• 🚀 Microsoft shares surged over 8.5% following stronger-than-expected quarterly sales and profit, with its Azure cloud unit posting a 33% revenue gain, 16% of which was attributed to AI.
• 💡 CEO Satya Nadella expressed confidence in the cloud unit's growth, projecting up to 35% increase in the current quarter.
• 📈 Meta's stock rose 6.5% after reporting first-quarter revenue that beat expectations and projecting current-quarter revenue in line with analyst estimates.
• 💬 CEO Mark Zuckerberg highlighted the growing user base of over 3.4 billion daily active users across Meta's apps and expressed confidence in navigating macro uncertainty.

Apple's Earnings Preview and AI Focus

• 🍎 Investors are keenly awaiting Apple's earnings report, with key insights sought on the future impact of Trump tariffs and the company's efforts to catch up with rivals in artificial intelligence.
• ⚠️ Apple's significant reliance on China for iPhone production makes it vulnerable to tariffs, potentially leading to price hikes or production shifts.
• 📊 Bloomberg consensus forecasts revenue of $94.62 billion and earnings per share of $1.62 for Apple.

Tesla Leadership and Elon Musk's Fed Scrutiny

• 📰 Tesla denied a Wall Street Journal report that its board had contacted executive search firms to find a successor for CEO Elon Musk earlier this year.
• 🧐 The report suggested board concerns over Musk's time commitment to his role at X (formerly Twitter).
• 🏛️ Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm stated the report was "absolutely false" and expressed confidence in Musk's leadership.
• 💰 Elon Musk is considering sending his government efficiency team to examine the Federal Reserve's spending, citing the renovation of the Fed's headquarters as an example of potential waste.

US-Ukraine Natural Resources Agreement

• 🤝 The U.S. and Ukraine have reached a deal granting the U.S. access to Ukraine's natural resources, including aluminum, graphite, oil, and natural gas.
• 🌍 This agreement is seen as a guarantee of continued U.S. involvement in Ukraine and support for an equitable peace deal with Russia.
• 💰 A fund will be established to attract global investment into Ukraine, with the U.S. receiving the first claim on profits transferred into the jointly managed fund.