Amazon’s total revenue was 17% higher than a year ago: buoyed by improving retail sales trends in the US, but still the lowest growth in four years. Revenue at the company’s highly profitable cloud computing arm grew 41%, however – helping it to shoot past overall profit predictions and post a record margin. But Amazon’s not wandering lonely: Microsoft, its rival for a $10 billion US Defense Department contract, also reported better-than-expected results on Wednesday thanks to a cloud segment that floats on high.

In an echo of its last three quarterly reports, Amazon’s forecast for this quarter was below what investors had hoped for. Still, if it repeats the profit trick, they probably won’t divorce its stock ( tweet this).

For markets: Amazon may be a whole #mood for investors.
Amazon’s stock price rose slightly in the wake of its bumper profit but uninspiring forecast. As the third-biggest public company in the US (two behind Microsoft, which became a $1 trillion company for the first time on Thursday) and one of the most closely watched, Amazon’s in a Prime position to pump up – or dampen down – the recent stock market party. Its rise may therefore encourage investors to buy up other stocks too.

The bigger picture: Cloud atlas, brick-and-mortar bat.
While Amazon’s cloud computing business generates most of the company’s profit, ecommerce remains a very public battleground. And Thursday’s disappointment for Walmart (the world’s biggest company by revenue) may boost Amazon further. Walmart’s planned sale of UK grocery chain Asda to local rival Sainsbury’s was blocked by British regulators concerned about a subsequent lack of competition. Walmart will now need a new plan (or a new buyer) to free up funds for the grocery war with Amazon: the Everything Store recently slashed prices at its Whole Foods chain again.

Swiss big cheese UBS warned last month that it was experiencing one of its worst quarters in recent years. That led investors to lower their profit forecasts – which the bank has now exceeded. Crazy rich Asians significantly boosted UBS’s business investing on behalf of the super well heeled, an area responsible for 60% of its annual profit. The same trend had lifted American rivals Morgan Stanley and BlackRock too.

Over at Barclays, revenue from helping investors exchange bonds, currencies, and commodities increased last quarter – activity where US rivals reported a decrease. But an overall drop in profit from a year ago may have Barclays' resident activist investor banging the drum yet louder for cuts to the bank’s riskier trading activities.

The bigger picture: Germany’s blockbuster tie-up is off the table.
Germany’s two biggest financial firms – Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank – announced on Thursday that their merger negotiations had fallen flat. Despite government backing, potential lost revenues and employee opposition to the job cuts likely to follow such a deal proved insurmountable. As merging firms often overestimate potential “synergies”, the end of the affair may be a blessing. It also leaves the door open to several potential foreign suitors for Commerzbank – although the international nature of such a merger means it would have to satisfy tougher regulatory requirements.

For markets: Banks drag Europe down.
European banks stocks fell overall on Thursday as investors sniffed at Barclays’ profit drop and the German giants’ return to the drawing board. And as banks represent 10% of the European stock market, that helped bring the overall European index down too. Beneath the surface, however, its better-than-expected profit led investors to buy UBS’s shares, pushing their price up.