Bits & Pieces
Edition #277 | 30/04/2026
Most traded | Markets & Macro | Earning Season | Chart of the Week | Value ETFs | Scalable News
Short week, early newsletter—thank goodness for holidays! Before you head into the long weekend, let's take a look at how the markets wrapped up the week:
- Big Tech Earnings: The earnings season is in full swing, and we have the latest numbers.
- The 70/30 Rule on Trial: Our podcast chat with ETF guru Gerd Kommer.
- DAX Shopping Spree: What's behind the record-breaking share buybacks in the US and Germany.
- Bargain Hunting: Value-ETFs offer exposure to potentially undervalued companies. Here is the scoop on how they work.
Note: The data refers to the ratio of purchases and sales of the 100 most traded stocks on Scalable Broker between 24/04/2026 and 30/04/2026.
The art of no deal
Tensions remain high in the Strait of Hormuz, with the trade route still effectively blocked. While the Iranian regime sent an offer to the White House to reopen it, Washington has remained silent. Instead, Donald Trump claimed that Iran told him the country is in a “state of collapse” and is pleading for the US to lift its counter-blockade. While the geopolitical rhetoric heats up, let's look at the data that matters for your portfolio:
- Rate Pause: The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged as expected. For Jerome Powell, this marked his final rate decision as Fed Chair.
- ECB Decision: Markets are pricing in a pause from the European Central Bank as well. The final rate decision will be released this Thursday at 2:15 PM CEST.
- Inflation Uptick: Germany's inflation rate climbed to 2.9% year-over-year in April—the highest level since early 2024. The primary culprit is energy prices, which surged by over 10%.
- Consumer Sentiment Slump: Consumer confidence in Germany hit a rough patch, dropping to -33.3—the lowest level since February 2023. Simply put, people are tightening their belts.
Cloud is booming, CapEx is skyrocketing
Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft reported their quarterly numbers on Wednesday evening, beating Wall Street expectations on both the top and bottom lines. Furthermore, Big Tech is signaling that AI spending is about to accelerate even further across the board. Here is the breakdown:
- Alphabet: The cloud division crossed the $20 billion mark—a 63% increase year-over-year and well above consensus. To fuel future AI growth, Google's parent company plans to ramp up investments to $190 billion this year.
- Amazon: AWS grew 28% to $37.6 billion, beating estimates. The company has earmarked around $200 billion for AI infrastructure and its new Leo satellite network, setting up a showdown with Elon Musk's SpaceX starting in the third quarter.
- Meta: User numbers were slightly softer, falling 0.5% quarter-over-quarter, which management attributed to the Middle East conflict and Russian restrictions. While 2026 investments have been lighter than expected so far, Meta raised its full-year guidance for AI and infrastructure to $145 billion.
- Microsoft: The Azure cloud service beat Wall Street estimates with a 40% jump. They also reached a major adoption milestone: over 20 million active Copilot seats across Microsoft 365 workplaces.
In addition, Apple's quarterly results are also expected later this Thursday evening, following the US closing bell.
Share buybacks hit record highs
Top 10 buyback programs of DAX-40 companies (in billions of €)
Source: Handelsblatt Research Institute (2026)
Share buybacks are having a massive moment: According to the Handelsblatt Research Institute, DAX companies are on track to buy back a record €54.6 billion worth of their own stock in 2026, led by SAP at €10 billion. The numbers in the US are on an entirely different scale, exceeding $1 trillion in a single year.
The playbook remains Apple. Since 2013, the tech giant has reduced its outstanding shares by 44%—a classic Charlie Munger-style “share cannibal”.
- Share Cannibals: Companies that continually reduce their outstanding share counts through aggressive, sustained buybacks.
- The Math: By shrinking the pie, companies boost their earnings per share (EPS), pushing stock prices higher even when organic top-line growth is flat.
The Catch: While buybacks juice short-term stock prices, critics argue this leaves less cash for essential R&D, especially when the AI boom demands massive upfront capital.
The bargain hunter's guide
Imagine finding that premium brand of chocolate you’ve been eyeing on the clearance rack—you’d grab it without hesitation.
That is the essence of value investing: searching for high-quality assets trading at a discount. If you don’t have the time to hunt for individual deals, Value-ETFs bundle together companies with low valuation multiples, using specific financial metrics:
- P/E Ratio (Price-to-Earnings): Measures a company's current share price relative to its per-share earnings.
- P/B Ratio (Price-to-Book): Compares the market price to the company's net assets (factories, infrastructure, and holdings).
- Dividend Yield: Shows how much a company pays out in dividends relative to its share price.
Think of Value-ETFs as scanning the entire grocery store and automatically grabbing the best clearance items from every aisle. These ETFs cherry-pick the cheapest stocks across different sectors.
Retirement calculator
In late March, the German parliament approved the new pension reform bill, with the final vote in the upper house (Bundesrat) scheduled for early May. The newly proposed pension depot is designed to modernize private wealth-building and encourage long-term investing. Check out our Retirement Calculator to find out what government subsidies you qualify for, how your returns are taxed, and how much you need to save monthly to close your personal retirement gap.
Editorial deadline: Thursday, 7 a.m.
Sources: Scalable and dpa-AFX