Google parent Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) and chip giant Intel (INTC) kicked off Big Tech’s earnings season on Thursday, with both companies reporting better-than-anticipated results on their top and bottom lines. But it wasn’t all good news.
Both Intel and Google raised the specter of tariffs during their respective reports and the tariffs’ potential impact on their businesses. Despite the Trump administration’s assertions that it is negotiating new trade agreements with various countries, the uncertainty around tariffs and their potential impact on the US economy has companies on edge.
Intel said “the current macro environment” will impact its second quarter revenue, guiding sales of between $11.2 billion and $12.4 billion. Wall Street was anticipating $12.8 billion. Intel’s stock price fell more than 7% Friday.
Google didn’t offer much insight into the impact of tariffs on its second quarter, with CBO Philipp Schindler saying it was too early to comment. He did explain that the Trump administration’s changes to de minimis exemptions will cause “a slight headwind to our ads business in 2025.”
The de minimis exemption lets companies ship items under $800 to the US without having to pay a duty. That, Schindler explained, will have a particular impact on Google’s APAC-based retail customers.
And with Meta (META) and Microsoft (MSFT) set to report their earnings on April 30 and Amazon (AMZN) and Apple (AAPL) scheduled to report on May 1, expect to hear even more about tariffs very soon.
Read more: The latest news and updates on Trump’s tariffs
Intel and Google gave investors their first close look at how tech companies are navigating the impact of tariffs. While Intel builds the majority of its chips in the US, they end up in laptops and desktops built overseas and shipped back to America.
Intel said it saw customers buying up more products in Q1, likely to get ahead of tariffs, but that will likely fall off in Q2, which is why guidance came in short of expectations.
Google was far more tight-lipped about what tariffs will mean for its bottom line next quarter, outside of the de minimis commentary. That said, if tariff concerns begin to force advertisers to pull back on their ad budgets, Google could find itself in trouble.
Read more: What Trump’s tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet
Google is also just one piece of the broader digital advertising market. Meta, Google’s rival in the ad space, and Amazon, which has its own formidable ad business, will provide a far clearer view of how advertisers are responding to tariff threats and offer deeper insights into the coming quarters.
