As Big Tech holds up, iPhone performance seen as 'noteworthy' for consumer demand
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With a significant number of tech companies having reported first-quarter results already, investment firm Wedbush Securities said the largest companies in the sector have held up well - aided by cloud computing and certain consumer-focused areas, notably the iPhone.
In a note to clients, analyst Dan Ives said that Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) was aided by its strong cloud computing results, while Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) (GOOGL) were strengthened by "more stable advertising trends" and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had "solid" demand for the iPhone, despite worries about the global economy. 
"While the bears will continue to scratch their heads at tech's performance, we also believe the rotation away from financials and towards the tech sector creates another 'safety trade' tailwind for the Street," Ives wrote in the note.
Some of these companies - notably Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT) - have also been aided by investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence, Ives added. In addition, all tech companies also continue to focus on cost cutting, to varying degrees, with investors responding in kind.
Conversely, companies that have had issues in the past are not likely to not as well, with Ives specifically mentioning Snap (SNAP), Lyft (LYFT) and Cloudfare (NET) as companies facing difficult backgrounds.
His outlook for the rest of the year is more gains for the tech sector, up another 10% to 12% from current levels.
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