The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 48,000 for the first time in history, driven by blowout quarterly earnings from major technology companies that exceeded analyst expectations by wide margins, largely due to accelerating artificial intelligence revenue. Microsoft reported $78 billion in quarterly revenue — a 22% year-over-year increase.
Nvidia, whose chips power the AI infrastructure boom, reported a record $44 billion quarterly revenue and guided for $52 billion in the following quarter. Alphabet posted $108 billion in quarterly revenue with Google Cloud growing 38%.
The S&P 500 also hit a new record high, rising 1.8% on the day, while the Nasdaq Composite surged 2.3%. The milestone came despite concerns about the US-Iran conflict and Canadian tariffs, as investors bet that AI productivity gains will outweigh geopolitical headwinds.
