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Stock Markets April 29, 2026 04:34 PM

After-Hours Market Movers: Big Tech Mixed; Automakers and Retailers See Varied Reactions

Quarterly reports drove notable after-hours swings as investors parsed results and forward guidance across major U.S. names

By Nina Shah META GOOGL AMZN MSFT QCOM
After-Hours Market Movers: Big Tech Mixed; Automakers and Retailers See Varied Reactions
META GOOGL AMZN MSFT QCOM

Shares of several large-cap companies moved sharply in after-hours trading following the release of quarterly results. Meta Platforms plunged despite raising its full-year capital expenditure target, while Alphabet and several other names rallied after reporting stronger-than-expected metrics. Results for other firms prompted more muted or mixed responses from investors.

Key Points

  • Meta’s stock declined after the company raised its full-year capital expenditure outlook to $125 billion-$145 billion despite otherwise solid quarterly results - impacts technology and capital-intensive segments.
  • Alphabet and several other companies reported quarters that beat expectations, driving after-hours gains - notable strength in advertising and cloud-related revenue was reflected in price moves.
  • Mixed reactions across the sector: Amazon and Microsoft saw modest declines despite solid results or in-line cloud growth, while Qualcomm and Carvana experienced notable rallies even with uneven guidance or mixed sentiment.

After the market close, a number of blue-chip and high-growth names registered significant price moves as traders reacted to quarterly earnings, revenue figures and guidance.

Meta Platforms (META) declined about 6% in after-hours trade even though the company posted solid quarterly results. The stock reacted negatively after Meta raised its full-year capital expenditure expectation to $125 billion to $145 billion, up from the prior range of $115 billion to $135 billion.

Alphabet (GOOGL) advanced roughly 4% after delivering a quarter that beat estimates on both the top and bottom lines, prompting a favorable investor response.

Amazon (AMZN) slipped about 1.5% in after-hours activity despite reporting strong quarterly results and outlook. The company reported quarterly revenue of $181.5 billion compared with the consensus estimate of $177.13 billion. For the coming quarter, Amazon projected revenue of $194 billion to $199 billion versus a consensus of $189.15 billion.

Microsoft (MSFT) fell roughly 1.5% after the results were characterized as lackluster, with revenue growth at the Azure cloud unit coming in line with analyst expectations.

Qualcomm (QCOM) finished the session up about 11% after an initial dip of 5%, even though the company issued guidance that was viewed as disappointing.

Ford Motor (F) pared an early, larger gain and ended after-hours trading about 1.5% higher after posting quarterly results that topped estimates. Ford reported Q1 earnings per share of $0.66, which was $0.47 better than the analysts’ estimate of $0.19. Revenue for the quarter was $43.3 billion versus a consensus estimate of $42.96 billion.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) rose approximately 1.4% after reporting quarterly results that were in line with expectations.

Carvana (CVNA) climbed about 8% in after-hours trade after reporting Q1 earnings per share of $1.69, $0.13 better than the analysts’ estimate of $1.56. Revenue for the quarter was $6.43 billion compared with a consensus estimate of $6.02 billion.

Separately, snapshot quote data available at the close showed a variety of percentage moves across the same names, including MSFT -1.12%, F -1.29%, GOOGL +0.05%, QCOM +4.00%, AMZN +1.29%, CMG +0.37%, META -0.21% and CVNA -2.42%.

The following sections summarize the principal takeaways, potential market implications and risks supported by the reported figures and market reactions.

Risks

  • Elevated capital spending plans at Meta introduce execution and funding risks that could affect the broader technology sector and investor sentiment toward capital-intensive business models.
  • Guidance that investors interpret as disappointing, as noted with Qualcomm, can trigger sharp volatility in semiconductor and related supply-chain stocks.
  • In-line results or growth that merely meets expectations, such as Microsoft’s Azure revenue growth, may lead to muted market responses even when underlying performance is steady, affecting investor appetite in cloud and enterprise software names.

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