💡 Elon Stopped Building a Car Company

Earnings numbers from Meta, Microsoft, and Tesla that change everything  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

January 29, 2026   |   Read Online Meta, Microsoft, and Tesla Just Dropped Their Numbers—Here's What Actually Matters for Your Portfolio Three Tech Giants Just Showed Their Cards. Here's What You Missed In partnership with Market News: Gold hits $5,600 as safe-haven rush intensifies. Silver hits $120 Brent crude futures hit $70 a barrel for the first time since September after warned Iran to make a nuclear deal Fed decision: interest rates hold steady The odds of a US government shutdown on January 31st have dropped to 43% Big Tech numbers released: Meta, Microsoft and Tesla Stock futures tick higher as investors weigh tech giants' earnings UK-China: Keir Starmer and Xi Jinping hail a reset in ties The Next Tesla? It Might Be Hiding in Your Window Shades (ad) Three of the biggest names in tech just laid their cards on the table.  And the story isn't what you might expect. Meta's printing money like it's going out of style.  Microsoft's cloud business is crushing it.  And Tesla? Well, it seems they're not really a car company anymore. Here's what you need to know. The Big Picture Look, earnings season can feel overwhelming.  But these three reports tell you everything about where big tech is heading in 2026. Meta reported Q4 revenue of $59.90 billion, up 24% from last year.  Microsoft hit $81.30 billion, growing 17%.  Tesla managed $24.90 billion but here's the thing: for the first time ever, their annual revenue actually dropped. Meta: The Ad Machine  Meta Mark Zuckerberg's empire just keeps growing. And it's not even close. Q4 net income came in at $22.8 billion. For the full year? $60.5 billion in profit. Total revenue: $59.89 billion. Here's what's driving it: people are spending more time on Facebook and Instagram than ever. Daily active users hit 3.58 billion in December. That's nearly half the planet checking in every single day. But here's the really interesting part. Meta isn't just coasting on ads anymore. They're betting on AI. ❝   "We had strong business performance in 2025… I'm looking forward to advancing personal superintelligence for people around the world in 2026."   Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO Zuckerberg announced they're planning to spend between $115 billion and $135 billion in 2026 on infrastructure. Most of that? AI computing power. They're building something they're calling "Meta Superintelligence Labs." They believe AI is going to change everything about how we use social media. And they're willing to bet tens of billions that they're right. The market seems okay with it. As long as those ad dollars keep flowing, and they are, investors are giving Zuck the green light to spend.     Who do you trust more right now? Mark Zuckerberg — monetizing scale first, AI second Satya Nadella — steady profits + AI discipline Elon Musk — betting the company on the future None — narratives > fundamentals       When Is the Right Time to Retire? Determining when to retire is one of life's biggest decisions, and the right time depends on your personal vision for the future. Have you considered what your retirement will look like, how long your money needs to last and what your expenses will be? Answering these questions is the first step toward building a successful retirement plan. Our guide, When to Retire: A Quick and Easy Planning Guide, walks you through these critical steps. Learn ways to define your goals and align your investment strategy to meet them. If you have $1,000,000 or more saved, download your free guide to start planning for the retirement you've worked for. Find Your Retirement Timeline   Microsoft: The Steady Giant Microsoft Investors expressed disappointment in Microsoft's earnings, citing concerns that massive AI capex is overshadowing cloud growth. Though Azure revenue increased by 39%, it barely topped estimates. Additionally, rising expenses for data centers and GPUs, along with slower cloud growth, raised concerns about long-term profitability. They reported operating income of $38.3 billion, up 21%. Azure and their AI services are still the main drivers. Here's what I find interesting: while everyone's chasing the newest, shiniest thing in AI, Microsoft already has their hands in everything. Office 365, LinkedIn, Windows, Azure, gaming, they're everywhere. Their Intelligent Cloud segment is leading the charge. Cloud revenue topped $50 billion this quarter. And they're not just talking about AI, they're actually making money from it right now. The gaming division took a hit, down about 5%. But when you're pulling in $81 billion a quarter, a small dip in Xbox sales isn't going to keep you up at night. Microsoft returned $12.7 billion to shareholders through dividends and buybacks. That's up 32% from last year. That tells you they're confident in their ability to keep generating cash even while spending heavily on AI infrastructure. Tesla: The Pivot Tesla Tesla's 2025 was rough.  First annual revenue decline in company history. Profits down 46%.  More than half of what they did earn came from selling regulatory credits to other carmakers, not from selling cars. Car sales dropped 8.6% YoY. The Model S and X? They're basically done. Musk confirmed they're phasing them out. But here's what Tesla wants you to focus on instead: robots and robotaxis. Elon spent the earnings call talking about everything except traditional car sales.  ❝   "Tesla is investing in its future as an AI and robotics company."   Elon Musk, Tesla CEO He's positioning Tesla as an AI and robotics company.  They invested $2 billion in xAI, despite shareholders previously voting against it.  He's talking about spending another $20 billion on AI infrastructure. The Cybercab robotaxi is supposedly launching in April. The Optimus humanoid robot is in development, with a "long-term goal" of making a million units a year. Now look, I get it. This is classic Musk, selling the future when the present isn't looking great.  But here's the thing: Tesla's core business, selling cars, is struggling. Competition is brutal. Prices are falling. Margins are getting squeezed. The energy storage side? That's actually growing. Up 25% to $3.84 billion.  Services revenue grew 18%. Those are bright spots. But betting your portfolio on robotaxis and humanoid robots when the core car business is declining? That requires a different kind of faith than betting on Meta's ad machine or Microsoft's cloud dominance.   Musk: "Robots Will Be Bigger Than Phones" Musk says robots will be the biggest product on Earth. Jensen Huang says accelerated computing will define the next 20 years. One company is positioned at the intersection of both—AI infrastructure, robotics, and next-gen compute. If you want early positioning, now is the moment. *ad   What This Means for You Three companies. Three strategies.  Meta's spending is big but they've got the cash flow to back it up. Their core business is healthy and growing. The AI bet is on top of an already profitable empire. Microsoft is the steady Eddie. They're everywhere, making money from everything, and the AI wave is just adding to an already strong foundation. If you want boring reliability, this is it. Tesla's the wild card. They're asking you to believe the car company of yesterday is becoming the AI robotics company of tomorrow. Maybe they're right. But right now, you're buying a story, not results. Here's my take: don't chase the narrative. Look at the numbers. Meta and Microsoft are showing you strong businesses that are adding AI to existing strengths. Tesla's showing you a declining core business with a pivot to unproven technology. That doesn't mean Tesla's a bad investment—it just means you need to understand what you're buying. You're betting on transformation, not current performance. Bottom Line We're watching three different playbooks unfold in real time. Meta's doubling down on their strength while adding AI on top. Microsoft's methodically building AI into everything they already do well. Tesla's trying to reinvent itself completely. Which approach is right? That depends on your risk tolerance and time horizon. But here's what's not debatable: AI spending across big tech just went from big to enormous.  The question isn't whether AI matters anymore. The question is who's spending wisely and who's just throwing money at the problem. Your portfolio should reflect which answer you believe. Stay smart out there.     Quick rating How was this one? 💡💡💡💡💡 Solid read 💡💡💡 It was okay 💡 Next, please     Disclaimer: This analysis is for educational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. 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