March was brutal, but the markets bounced back strongly in April as hopes grew that the conflict with Iran may soon come to an end 📈
In this recap, we break down what happened. How did the indexes perform? What did our portfolios do? Which stocks led the rebound, and which lagged behind? We end with the moves we made this month.
Dive into our full April Recap below 👇
📢 Our Best Buys for May drop early next week — don’t miss it 🎯
What Moved the Markets in April?
April was a strong month for the markets. After the heavy sell-off in March, stocks rebounded as the U.S. and Iran agreed to a ceasefire, removing a lot of uncertainty from the market.
TSMC and ASML kicked off Q1 earnings season with strong results, showing AI demand is still incredibly strong. Big Tech earnings last week only reinforced that view, with the hyperscalers once again raising their AI spending plans. Combined capex for the four largest players is now expected to reach up to $725 billion in 2026. Alphabet impressed the most with 63% growth in Google Cloud, while Meta disappointed investors after raising its capex outlook by another $10 billion.
Memory companies like SK hynix, Western Digital and Sandisk also posted strong numbers, with demand for AI memory and storage staying very strong.
April also brought a wave of AI and product launches. Anthropic launched Project Glasswing, opening access to Claude Mythos for a select group of companies. OpenAI introduced ChatGPT Images 2.0, and rumors emerged that the company may be developing an OpenAI Phone powered by Qualcomm chips.
Amazon launched Amazon Quick, its new desktop AI assistant, and Microsoft announced its biggest Copilot rollout ever with Accenture, bringing the software to 743,000 employees. Adobe launched CX Enterprise Coworker and announced a $25 billion buyback, and Salesforce introduced Headless 360.
Eli Lilly launched Foundayo, its new GLP-1 weight loss pill, in the U.S. Amazon launched a GLP-1 weight loss program through One Medical, and Novo Nordisk partnered with OpenAI on drug discovery.
Amazon acquired Globalstar for $11.6 billion, and Adyen acquired Talon.One. Uber expanded further into travel by adding hotel bookings through Expedia.
Intel and AMD rallied last month as investors started realizing CPUs are becoming more important and could play a crucial role in an agentic AI era.
SpaceX confidentially filed for an IPO, with a potential listing expected in June.
Finally, Apple announced that Tim Cook will step down as CEO later this year and remain chairman, with John Ternus taking over as his successor. Reed Hastings also stepped down as chairman of Netflix after more than two decades.
So how did the markets respond this month? Here’s how the three major indexes performed:
S&P 500: +10.4% 📈 (+5.3% YTD)
Nasdaq: +15.3% 📈 (+7.1% YTD)
Dow Jones: +7.1% 📈 (+3.3% YTD)
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Portfolio Performance: How Did We Do?
How did our portfolios perform in April?
In this update, we break down our performance versus the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones, and highlight which stocks performed best and which lagged behind.
Want to see what we bought and sold during the month? Check out the full breakdown below 👇
Available exclusively for our paid members ✨