Can Apple and Amazon keep leading Big Tech?

Apple is betting on trust. Amazon is betting on scale. One leans into privacy-first AI, the other into $100 billion of cloud infrastructure. As both companies prepare to report earnings, investors are asking the same question: who’s better positioned to lead Big Tech’s next era?

Apple’s stock is down 15% year‑to‑date, according to eToro, with concerns that U.S. tariffs on China‑made devices could cut about $900 million from its quarterly profits.

To counter these risks, Apple is accelerating its manufacturing shift to India and Vietnam. Analysts note its strong pricing power  – shown by last quarter’s 47% gross margin – helps offset rising costs without denting demand.

“In price‑sensitive markets like China, rising competition and cautious consumers limit Apple’s pricing power, pushing it to lean on discounts and cheaper models to sustain demand and market share,” Sunil Raina, CEO and Founder of AI platform CereBree, told The Crypto Radio. 

Regardless, “outside AI, product and service demand stays key. iPhone sales may hit $47B, but weakness in China could drag results,” Josh Gilbert, a market analyst at eToro, noted. 

Apple’s supply chain diversification “boosts resilience and cuts geopolitical risk, but can’t fully offset profit pressure from sudden tariffs,” Raina said. 

iPhones still matter more than AI

“Recent launches – including the 11th‑gen iPad and M4 MacBook Air – could boost Mac and iPad results,” Gilbert said.

However, Apple’s latest updates still “can’t make up for weaker iPhone sales,” Raina noted. “The iPhone is still Apple’s top seller and main revenue driver. Until the iPhone 17 arrives, other launches may steady revenue but won’t offset the slowdown from weaker iPhone demand.”

Despite ongoing innovation, analysts say the iPhone’s dominance means even small dips have outsized impact on Apple’s performance.

Amazon powers ahead with cloud and robots

Amazon has deployed 750,000 robots to speed up packages, part of a cost-cutting shift after 27,000 layoffs. Photo: Unsplash / Adrian Sulyok

Amazon delivered $11.5 billion in operating income last quarter, with nearly 40% margins, driven by AWS and retail.

Generative AI is playing a growing role in boosting cloud use, with investors closely watching Amazon’s push into AI infrastructure. Early signs are positive, but slowing growth could still weigh on sentiment.

CEO Andy Jassy called demand “insatiable,” with Amazon planning $100 billion in capital spending this year to grow its AI and cloud infrastructure. Investors expect Amazon to follow Google parent Alphabet, which recently increased its own AI investments.

Analysts at eToro pointed to Amazon’s ongoing cost-cutting strategy, including 27,000 layoffs and fulfillment restructuring, which helped lift North America retail margins to 6.2% in Q1 from 5.8% last year. More than 750,000 robots were deployed in logistics.

While Apple fine-tunes its hardware, Amazon is optimizing scale and infrastructure – with AI and automation at the core.

Two AI visions, one leadership question

Wall Street is watching for clarity on Apple’s AI plans. The company shared generative AI updates at its June Developer Conference amid concerns that it is falling behind rivals. eToro suggests Apple may no longer stand out among the "Magnificent Seven" tech stocks.

Apple’s cautious, on-device AI strategy has drawn close attention. Peter Bondarenko, AI-native founder and creative technologist, noted Apple’s focus on private, on‑device intelligence tightly integrated into the user experience. “From a product view, that’s powerful. Users want AI to feel seamless, respectful, and safe,” he told The Crypto Radio. “Though slower to market, it builds long-term trust.”

Still, Bondarenko said Apple “doesn’t lead the AI narrative,” which may cost them developer mindshare in a perception-driven industry. “With even Sam Altman admitting private chats could be used in court, Apple’s stance matters,” he added.

In contrast, Amazon shows AI in action. “Amazon has the infrastructure, but leading means delivering product-level AI, not just selling compute,” Bondarenko noted. He highlighted Amazon’s lead by showing AI use in retail and logistics with precision, ethics, and UX design.

“They must go beyond being a neutral platform. OpenAI gave Microsoft identity; Amazon needs bold, opinionated AI tools – not just hosting others’ models – to lead.”

Who defines the future of Big Tech?

This year's Prime Day drove an estimated $24.1 billion in U.S. online sales, showing healthy demand despite inflation. However, Raina predicts “economic pressures, rising prices, mixed consumer confidence, increased retailer competition, and global uncertainties may slow spending growth soon.”

Apple is leaning on its legacy of trust, privacy, and premium hardware. Amazon is building scale through cloud dominance and automation. Both are making strategic bets on AI – but in very different ways.

This week’s earnings won’t just reveal how they’re performing. They may show whether Apple and Amazon are still defining Big Tech – or just trying to keep up.