- Meta and Amazon shares soared Friday.
- The Big Tech giants' gains came after they posted stellar results for the last three months of 2023.
Meta Platforms and Amazon added more than a quarter of a trillion dollars to their combined valuations on Friday as the Big Tech stocks soared after strong fourth-quarter earnings reports.
Meta shares climbed 16% at the opening bell, adding $160 billion to the Facebook and Instagram owner's market capitalization. Amazon's 6% gain added $110 billion to its valuation.
Friday's $270 billion increase in the value of "Magnificent Seven" stocks is more than the entire value of companies including Netflix, Coca-Cola, Bank of America, McDonald's, Disney, and Nike.
Their stellar end to the week came after Meta and Amazon both posted strong results for the last three months of 2023.
Mark Zuckerberg's "Year of Efficiency" cost cuts helped Meta's profits to triple year-on-year, and it announced the first dividend of 50 cents a share and a $50 billion stock buyback.
Meanwhile, Amazon's revenue and earnings-per-share for the quarter came in ahead of Wall Street's expectations as CEO Andy Jassy touted the impact of a "record-breaking holiday shopping season."
"These results show that tech is about more than just AI at the moment," Kathleen Brooks of XTB told Business Insider. "Meta got A-stars across the board — that's rare for them, and issuing a dividend makes this a double-whammy of good news for investors."
Apple disappoints
Benchmark stock-market indices also rose Friday, with the S&P 500 climbing 0.2% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 jumping 0.7%.
Big Tech rival Apple's stock looked set for a weaker day, however.
Shares in the iPhone maker slipped 2% after sales in China fell short of analysts' forecasts despite quarterly earnings beating expectation. Those losses wiped out $70 billion in market cap.
Meta had already climbed 12% year-to-date before Friday, and is up 109% over the past 12 months, while Amazon was up 4% and Apple was down 3%.