☕️ Amazon up, Apple down – what's going on?
Jul 31, 2026Good morning! 👋
It’s Hayley here as Keith is still peddling somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
Just as was the case yesterday with the two M’s (Meta and Microsoft), the two A’s (Apple and Amazon) have had vastly different reactions to the earnings reports.
Amazon beat top and bottom-line estimates. (Read)
- Net sales of $200.6 billion, up 20% YoY.
- Operating income of $27.5 billion, up 43% YoY.
- AWS revenue grew 37% – its fastest growth in 18 quarters.
- Net income of $62.6 billion, though $53.4 billion of that came from a non-operating gain tied to Amazon's Anthropic stake, not the core business.
Shares are up ~13% as I type.
Then we’ve got Apple, also beating both top and bottom-line estimates. (Read)
- Revenue of $109.4 billion, up 16% YoY – a new June quarter record.
- EPS of $2.02, up 29% YoY.
- Gross margin came in at 50.1%.
- iPhone, Mac, and Services all set individual June quarter revenue records.
- Installed base of active devices hit an all-time high across every product category and region.
- Guidance came in lower than estimates.
Shares have fallen ~9% as I type.
So, what’s going on?!
Here's something Keith has been hammering home lately, and it applies perfectly here.
Moves like this are magnified in size and speed intensely due to dealer options positioning and short-term traders re pricing risk.
Short-term trading that has very little to do with the company itself.
Owning "shares of a company" today isn’t just that anymore. There are layers and layers sitting on top of the stock – I'm talking index and ETF ownership, single-stock futures, options open interest, gamma exposure, and so on.
So yes, volatility has changed and doesn’t look as straight-forward as it once did, but actually, this creates more opportunity than ever for savvy investors that can do the following:
- SEE where price is likely to move
- Have a reasonable understanding when
- Know what strategies to use
- Eliminate confusion
- Be consistent, no matter the timeframe
If you need help with this, you know where to find Keith.
While on the topic, if you’re part of the One Bar Ahead® Family, the LowBall Orders suggested for Apple on Tuesday will now be in action – hooyah!
Bottom Line
Investors are their own worst enemies. Most give up before the thesis they’re tracking has enough time to play out.
Now and as always, let's MAKE it a great day! 💯
You got this — I promise!
Hayley 😀
PS: We've got something really exciting happening on August 4. I've been sworn to secrecy – but we can’t wait! 😉
