Apple Rides iPhone Strength to Record Quarter, Reddit Sales Surge 69%

Stocks closed at record highs on Thursday to cap off a remarkable April — the S&P 500 gained 1% and finished the month up 10%, its best since November 2020, while the Nasdaq climbed 0.9% and rose 15% for its strongest month since April 2020. Google jumped 10% on its own monster earnings, pushing its market cap to $4.65 trillion, within striking distance of Nvidia's $4.8 trillion for the most valuable company in the world. The rally came despite fresh inflation data showing the Fed's preferred gauge, core PCE, hitting 3.2% year over year — the highest since November 2023 — and the market now pricing in just a 10% chance of a rate cut this year. The Strait of Hormuz remains closed, oil prices are elevated, and incoming Fed Chair Kevin Warsh faces a divided board after Jerome Powell announced he will stay on as Fed Governor past his term expiration on May 15th, effectively blocking President Trump from filling another vacancy. But for now, AI enthusiasm and strong corporate earnings are overriding those uncertainties.

Apple's Quarter: iPhone Strength, Record Margins, and a $100 Billion Buyback