Earnings Season Delivered a 28% Haymaker — Here's Who Got Knocked Out and Who's Still Standing
S&P 500 logs its best April since 2020, the Fed hasn't been this divided since 1992, and Spirit Airlines is basically a ghost airline at this point
Ticker Ratings
| Ticker | Rating | Entry Price | Current | $ Gain | % Gain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GOOGL Alphabet Inc. | buy | $385.34 | — | — | — |
| META Meta Platforms, Inc. | hold | $608.81 | — | — | — |
| AMZN AMAZON COM INC | buy | $267.67 | — | — | — |
| MSFT MICROSOFT CORP | hold | $413.24 | — | — | — |
| AAPL Apple Inc. | hold | $280.07 | — | — | — |
| RIOT Riot Platforms, Inc. | buy | $18.39 | — | — | — |
| RBLX Roblox Corp | sell | $45.21 | — | — | — |
| CVX CHEVRON CORP | hold | $190.59 | — | — | — |
| CAT CATERPILLAR INC | buy | $889.00 | — | — | — |
| QCOM QUALCOMM INC/DE | buy | $176.80 | — | — | — |
| CARR CARRIER GLOBAL Corp | buy | $68.17 | — | — | — |
| PWR QUANTA SERVICES, INC. | buy | $743.10 | — | — | — |
Let's start with the scoreboard: S&P 500 Q1 earnings grew 28.8% against expectations of roughly 14% — that's not a beat, that's an embarrassment for the forecasters. Tech sector earnings came in growing in the 40s percentage range, which is the kind of number that makes your Excel model look like a crayon drawing. Tom Lee of Fundstrat called it right — AI is delivering real margin improvements, not just vibes — and raised software (IGV) to a top pick. Nasdaq hit record highs, and the index is on track for its fifth consecutive week of gains.
The Fed, meanwhile, is having an identity crisis. The 8-4 dissent vote — the most fractured FOMC decision since October 1992 — signals the committee is quietly preparing to ditch its easing bias. Inflation language was upgraded from 'somewhat elevated' to just 'elevated,' which in Fed-speak is basically a red alert. Three hawkish dissenters want rate hikes back on the table. Meanwhile Powell announced he's staying on as a board governor, which Jim Bianco described diplomatically as a political power move.
As for $SAVE — Polymarket is pricing an 77% probability of shutdown, the stock cratered 25%, and a Trump rescue plan is hitting creditor roadblocks. Spirit Airlines went from budget flying to budget everything. Alphabet's Google Cloud grew 63% with a $460B backlog; Meta spent like a drunken sailor and forgot to explain why. The market is making its feelings known: earnings discipline is the new black.