In their recent showdown with Congress, the tech titans argued they hadn't grown too powerful. The days that followed told a very different story. (GOOGL)

antitrust hearing amazon google facebook apple

The CEOs of four tech giants recently defended their market power in a historic antitrust hearing.
A week later, it feels like business as usual.
Blockbuster earnings, copycat apps, and near-$2-trillion market caps tell a different story to the one we heard from these companies a week ago.
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Four of the world's most powerful tech CEOs appeared virtually before Congress late last month to defend against accusations they had grown too powerful.

Only 24 hours later, as all four companies announced Wall Street-beating earnings, these executives were singing a very different song to their investors.

Amazon blew past expectations for a record quarter, while Facebook proved neither a pandemic nor an ad boycott could hurt it.

And Apple is nearing a $2 trillion market cap at the time of writing.

But while stocks were soaring, some of the biggest revelations gleamed from the hundreds of emails and internal documents released by Congress were only just coming to light. Within those pages was a far more insightful look at how these giants often acquired smaller companies to consolidate power.

And in the days that followed, it's felt like business as usual.

Facebook rolled out its TikTok clone for Instagram, Reels, only a week after Mark Zuckerberg was questioned about the company's copycat strategies. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said during the House hearing that the company's tactics of cloning and acquiring made it "hard for new companies to flourish."

Unlike its less successful Lasso feature, Reels arrives as the fate of TikTok hangs in the balance, which could play to Facebook's favor.

Apple hasn't escaped the headlines either, after Tim Cook met Congress amid concerns that the App Store operated in a way that was anticompetitive.

This week, Facebook publicly attacked Apple's App Store policies after finally launching its Facebook Gaming app, but only after removing the ability for users to actually play games (they can still watch games via streaming).

Microsoft, meanwhile, slammed Apple for prohibiting its cloud gaming service on Apple's iOS platform.

Google finds itself facing the most immediate danger from antitrust action, with the Justice Department said to be preparing a case for later this summer, and this week its attempt to acquire Fitbit looked less certain as the EU launched a full-scale investigation.

But that certainly didn't stop the company from staking a $450 million investment in security-monitoring provider ADT to boost its smart home business.

Antitrust regulators may have put some fear into big tech last week, but after the past few days, you'd be forgiven for not thinking so.

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