Technology can baffle even the sharpest minds. Analysts have been wrongfooted by tech companies throughout this earnings season. The biggest surprise was delivered by Google, which handily beat a sceptical Wall Street consensus. The shares jumped 20 per cent in one day. On Friday, shares in Ericsson jumped 17 per cent after the networks company beat forecasts. Even Yahoo beat expectations although, given it is still trying to fend off Microsoft’s bear-hug, that was a little less surprising.

Investors lost faith in the tech sector during January and February, with heavyweights such as Google and Apple seeing their market value plunge by 40 per cent. Percentage growth estimates for quarterly S&P 500 tech sector earnings in 2008 have been cut almost in half since the start of the year although they remain in double digits. That the sector has not lived down to lowered expectations has led to a rebound – shares in Google and Apple have made back more than half the year’s initial fall.