Apple Hits $111 Billion In Revenue; Qualcomm's Earnings Bolstered By AI; Samsung's Profits Jump 8x; And MTN Nigeria Delivers 160% Jump In Profits

Welcome to Read It And Eat Earnings as you might know we are in the middle of earnings season and got today’s newsletter we are talking earnings both in America and Nigeria. Earnings season is doing what AI hype alone couldn’t, separating momentum from real performance. Apple is leading the charge with a $111 billion quarter powered by iPhone demand and services growth, while Qualcomm is hinting at deeper moves into AI infrastructure through hyperscale deals. Over in Asia, Samsung Electronics is riding the AI chip wave to an eightfold profit surge, highlighting just how tight supply has become. And back home, MTN Nigeria is posting a ₦546 billion profit jump, driven by fintech and data expansion. From Big Tech earnings to telecom dominance, this week’s numbers are telling a clear story, AI is no longer just a narrative, it’s showing up in the results. All this and more in today’s Read It And Eat Earnings! 

Markets Around The World

Introducing YTD

 YTD means 'year‑to‑date' – it’s the simplest way to see how an asset has performed since January 1. Below you’ll find the YTD returns for the key indices we track: the American S&P 500, the UK’s FTSE 100, South Korea’s KOSPI, Nigeria's NGX, and other commodities. And next to them are the YTD numbers for our own RIAE Portfolios; the custom‑built portfolios designed to put our investment philosophy into practice.

Markets as of  30th April 2026.. Cells in RED mean that the value is down, cells in Green mean the value is up.

MAJOR HEADLINES

• Apple Tops Q2 Estimates on $111B Revenue

Apple reported a Q2 beat on both earnings and revenue, posting EPS of $2.01 on $111.2 billion in revenue, ahead of expectations for $1.96 and $109.66 billion. That marks a sharp increase from $1.65 EPS and $95.35 billion a year earlier. iPhone revenue came in at $56.99 billion, slightly above projections and marking a second straight quarter of 20%+ growth, while Services delivered $30.97 billion versus $30.37 billion expected. Mac revenue reached $8.39 billion, supported by strong demand for devices like the Mac mini and the newly launched $599 MacBook Neo. Shares rose about 1% following the release.

The results reinforce Apple’s ability to sustain growth across both hardware and high-margin services, with iPhone demand, particularly in China remaining a key driver despite broader macro concerns. The continued strength in Services highlights Apple’s ecosystem advantage, while rising Mac demand tied to AI use cases signals early positioning in the AI compute cycle. Overall, the quarter suggests Apple is not just benefiting from AI tailwinds but quietly embedding itself deeper into the infrastructure layer supporting them. Yahoo.Finance

• Qualcomm Beats Q2 Estimates, Signals Hyperscaler Deal and China Demand Rebound

Qualcomm reported a Q2 beat on both earnings and revenue, coming in ahead of analyst expectations as stronger chip sales and improving demand supported results. While the company did not disclose exact details, executives hinted at a major deal in the works with a leading hyperscaler, alongside signs of stabilizing demand in key markets like China.

The results point to a broader rebound in the semiconductor cycle, particularly as AI-driven demand begins to extend beyond GPUs into connectivity and mobile chips. Qualcomm’s push into hyperscaler partnerships signals its ambition to capture a larger slice of AI infrastructure spending, while improving China demand suggests easing macro headwinds that have weighed on the sector in recent quarters. CNBC

• Samsung Electronics Posts 8x Profit Surge as AI Chip Boom Drives Revenues

Samsung Electronics beat a record Q1 operating profit, surging nearly eightfold year-over-year and significantly beating expectations as higher memory chip prices and tight supply conditions boosted earnings. The jump reflects strong pricing power across its semiconductor division, driven by sustained demand for advanced chips.

The results underscore how the AI boom is reshaping the semiconductor landscape, with memory and storage emerging as critical bottlenecks in AI infrastructure. Samsung’s performance highlights the growing imbalance between supply and demand, reinforcing expectations of continued pricing strength and aggressive capital investment as companies race to meet AI-driven compute needs. Reuters

• MTN Nigeria Posts Profits Above ₦500B; Up 169% as Revenue Hits ₦1.49T

MTN Nigeria beat Q1 2026, posting ₦546.4 billion in pre-tax profit, up nearly 170% year-on-year, on record revenue of ₦1.49 trillion. After-tax profit came in at ₦355.5 billion, while EPS jumped 166% to ₦16.95. Investors reacted quickly, sending the stock up over 6% in a day to ₦870 and pushing the company to become the most valuable on the Nigerian Exchange.

The performance signals more than just recovery, it reflects broad-based momentum across MTN’s core businesses. Data revenue rose 56% on increased smartphone usage and consumption, while fintech surged nearly 78%, with core fintech revenue jumping over 190% excluding XtraTime. A key shift also came from foreign exchange, which flipped to a ₦33 billion gain after previously dragging earnings, alongside over ₦150 billion in debt reduction. Together, this points to a structurally stronger business, with fintech and data positioning MTN as a deeper player in Nigeria’s digital economy. TechPoint

Minor Headlines

• Microsoft beat Q1 earnings and revenue estimates on surging demand in its Azure cloud unit and growth in its Copilot AI for enterprise Office users; the firm forecast $190B in FY capex amid soaring memory prices CNBC

• Alphabet beat Q1 earnings and revenue estimates driven by a 22% surge in overall revenue and record search query volumes fueled by its new AI Overviews; the firm raised its full-year AI capex guidance to $180B-$190B reflecting unprecedented compute demand CNBC

• Robinhood missed Q1 earnings estimates on weak transaction volume despite surging fees on prediction market trades and growth in its subscription service; the firm also warned on costs tied to 'Trump Accounts' Wall Street Journal

• GTCO missed Q1 bottom-line estimates as net profit declined 15% to N218 billion due to higher tax expenses and funding costs, despite an 8.8% rise in gross earnings; the financial services group noted strong core performance driven by a 23.3% expansion in interest-earning assets Businessday

• Spotify beat Q1 earnings and revenue estimates on strong MAU and premium subscribers growth but issued soft guidance as price hikes begin to weigh on subscriber growth CNBC

• Starbucks issued a Q1 beat-and-raise on its second-straight quarter for foot traffic growth as new CEO Brian Niccol's turnaround takes shape CNBC

• SanDisk beat fiscal Q1 earnings and revenue estimates as revenue jumped 21% sequentially to $2.31 billion, driven by strong datacenter demand and edge computing growth; the storage firm achieved a net cash positive milestone ahead of plan and guided for continued gross margin expansion BusinessWire

• Chevron missed Q1 earnings expectations with EPS dropping to $0.97, reflecting tighter margins and softer commodity prices compared to recent quarters; the energy giant maintained a stable revenue projection of $51.86 billion amid a highly volatile global oil market Yahoo.Finance

• Eli Lilly beat Q1 earnings and revenue estimates with a 56% surge in revenue to $19.8B, heavily driven by massive demand for its blockbuster cardiometabolic drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound; the pharmaceutical giant raised its full-year revenue guidance by $2B to a range of $82B-$85B CNBC