The FTC would like a word with Zuck... The social network is expecting a gigantic fine ($3B-$5B) from the Federal Trade Commission for violating users' privacy by hooking up Cambridge Analytica with data. Facebook's profits fell 51% because it's prepping the legal splurge account with $3B right now.
Zucks fly together... Investor bandwidth focused on a bunch of big tech earnings that all seemed to arrive together:
✍️ Facebook: Its core business of filling your newsfeed with shockingly on-point ads did well (sales rose 26%) and daily users rose 8%. Shares jumped 7% despite the huge looming fine.
🦄 Microsoft: Welcome back to the Platinum Platypus club, Microsoft. The OG tech giant is worth over $1T again courtesy of a 41% jump in cloud computing sales. Even throwback Windows was up 9%.
⚡️ Tesla: We already knew its 1st quarter car deliveries struggled, but its loss was twice as big as analysts expected. Elon promises it will make money the next three quarters, but it's down to just $2.2B in cash in the bank.
Wall Street's winning percentage would lead the AL East... 72% of companies in the S&P 500 that reported earnings through Tuesday had beaten analysts' profit estimates. That percentage deserves an MVP. But Wednesday was a tad more mixed, with Caterpillar and AT&T disappointing.