Big Tech’s fortunes diverge as AI powers cloud, tariffs hit consumer electronics

The fortunes of Big Tech are diverging in a rapidly changing business landscape, as demand for artificial intelligence fuels growth in cloud and digital ads while consumer electronics take a battering from President Donald Trump‘s global trade war. AI came to the rescue of earnings at Microsoft and Google-parent Alphabet in their March quarter, offering investors hope that their billion-dollar bets on the technology would help them ride out the fallout from sweeping U.S. tariffs.Their upbeat commentary stood in stark contrast to gloomy predictions…