Amazon’s profits soared on strong seasonal trading and strong growth in its strong cloud computing business.
The world’s largest retailer generated $170 billion in revenue in the three months ended December, up 14% from the same period in 2022 and beating Wall Street expectations of about $166 billion. did.
Net income reached $10.6 billion in the fourth quarter, up from $278 million a year earlier, as the company moved to cut costs and end years of rapid expansion after the pandemic hit.Earnings per share hit $1.03.
The company’s stock rose 3.6% in after-hours trading in New York.
Amazon, valued at $1.6 trillion by the stock market, has continued to cut jobs, albeit at a slower pace, in recent weeks after cutting 27,000 jobs last year.
On Thursday, the group’s chief executive, Andy Jassy, said: “This fourth quarter was a record holiday shopping season, capping off a strong 2023 for Amazon. We have made significant advances in flow, but what is most gratifying is the continued invention and improvement of the customer experience across our business.”
Amazon has built a vast digital empire around its e-commerce platform, from smart speakers to live sports. Through Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company also leads the lucrative cloud computing market, but Microsoft, now worth $3 trillion, is eating into that lead with broader integration of artificial intelligence. Masu.
Regulators have sought to rein in the growth of the giant conglomerate. Earlier this week, Amazon abandoned its $1.4 billion acquisition plan for robotic vacuum cleaner company iRobot amid European opposition to the deal. U.S. regulators announced last week that they would investigate the company’s dealings with emerging AI companies like Anthropic.
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Bank of America analyst Justin Post suggested ahead of earnings that it would be “important” for Amazon executives to “call out” the group’s AWS business could accelerate. He expected the company’s core retail business to be a “positive sign” in the fourth quarter, with advertising also providing a tailwind.
