Microsoft, Google post strong quarterly sales growth as Big Tech continues its comeback

Big tech companies are continuing a turnaround from last year, as Alphabet, Microsoft and Snap kicked off earnings season with strong sales results for the quarter ended in September.

Google parent company Alphabet on Tuesday reported quarterly sales of $76.69 billion, up 11% from the same period in the prior year. The company also posted profits of $19.69 billion for the quarter.

Meanwhile, Microsoft posted 13% year-on-year sales growth to $56.5 billion, also beating expectations. Microsoft's quarterly profits hit $22.3 billion, up 27% from the year-ago period.

Snapchat parent Snap on Tuesday reported a return to sales growth in the September quarter, after two consecutive quarters of declining sales. The company reported revenue of nearly $1.2 billion, an increase of 5% from the same period in the prior year and ahead of analysts' projections. The company reported a net loss of $368 million.

The strong results come after Microsoft, Alphabet, Snap and other tech companies carried out mass layoffs and other cost cutting moves over the past year following a difficult 2022 when advertisers and other clients cut back on their spending due to concerns over the macroeconomic environment.

Despite beating Wall Street's sales expectations, shares of both Alphabet and Snap each dipped around 5% in after-hours trading following the reports, although Snap's quickly regained some ground. Microsoft's shares gained around 4% in after-hours trading.

"Q3 tech season has been quite strong thus far," Tejas Dessai, research analyst at investment fund GlobalX said in a statement. "These numbers clearly defy concerns of near term economic weakness looming."