THE DAILY BRIEF
THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2026
MICROSOFT'S AI BUSINESS HITS $37B RUN RATE
Microsoft reported Q3 revenue of $82.9B (up 18% YoY) and net income of $31.8B (up 23%), with its AI business reaching a $37B annual revenue run rate—a 123% increase. The company's cloud and productivity divisions continued to drive growth despite Xbox hardware revenue declining 33%.
► WHY IT MATTERS: Microsoft's AI revenue trajectory signals that enterprise AI monetization is real and substantial, not speculative hype, reshaping expectations for the entire sector's profitability.
ALPHABET Q1 REVENUE UP 22% TO $109.9B
Alphabet reported Q1 revenue of $109.9B (up 22% YoY), exceeding estimates of $107.2B, with Google Cloud revenue surging 63% to $20B and net income jumping 81% to $62.58B. YouTube's ad revenue grew 10.7% YoY to $9.88B, though slightly missing the $9.99B estimate.
► Google Cloud's explosive 63% growth demonstrates that advertising giants are successfully diversifying into infrastructure, competing directly with AWS and Azure in the highest-margin market.
AWS HITS 15-QUARTER GROWTH HIGH ON AI DEMAND
AWS revenue accelerated 28% YoY to $37.6B in Q1, its fastest growth in 15 quarters and above the $36.64B estimate. Amazon's capital expenditure nearly doubled to $44.2B from $25B in Q1 2025, reflecting massive AI infrastructure investments.
► AWS's capex doubling signals that cloud providers are betting heavily on AI workloads sustaining growth, and the market is absorbing these investments faster than previously expected.
SAP NPM PACKAGES COMPROMISED IN SUPPLY-CHAIN ATTACK
Multiple official SAP npm packages were compromised in a suspected TeamPCP supply-chain attack designed to steal developer credentials and authentication tokens from systems.
► Compromised official packages from enterprise vendors like SAP expose the fragility of open-source trust, making supply-chain security a boardroom risk rather than just an engineering concern.
HIGHTOUCH RAISES $150M AT $2.75B VALUATION
AI marketing platform Hightouch closed a $150M funding round led by Goldman Sachs and Bain Capital at a $2.75B valuation, more than doubling from its $1.2B valuation in 2025. The Trade Desk also participated in the round.
► Goldman Sachs and Bain's backing signals that enterprise AI software in marketing is graduating from startup bets to institutional capital, validating the category's sustainable business model.
■ COMPILED BY THE NEWSROOM ■ SOURCES: 12 RSS FEEDS