Amazon Stock Jumps Closer To Record High On Earnings Boost

1 May 2024

Forbes

Topline

Amazon edged past Wall Street’s consensus estimates of earnings and revenues in its first-quarter earnings report, sending the stock of the world’s largest online retailer closer to a record high in extended trading Tuesday.

An US giant Amazon employee passes by its logo on the opening day of the new distribution center in ... [+] Augny, eastern France, on September 23, 2021. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP) (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images Key Facts

Amazon reported $143.3 billion in first-quarter net revenues, up from $127.4 billion a year ago—slightly surpassing the consensus expectation of analysts tracked by FactSet.

Net revenue from the lucrative AWS cloud-computing business grew by 17% from last year to $25 billion, while sales from the North America segment rose 12% to $86.3 billion and the International division by 10% to $31.9 billion.

Net income in the first three months of the year increased to $10.4 billion, or 98 cents per share, compared with $3.2 billion, or 31 cents per share in the same period last year.

The Seattle-based retail company grew operating income by 221% to $15.3 billion, representing a margin of 10.7% from 3.7% last year.

Amazon said it expects net revenue for the second quarter to be between $140 billion and $149 billion, representing 7% to 11% compared with the same period last year.

Shares of Amazon surged 3% in Tuesday’s extended trading session to hit $180 per share.

Big Number

$99.1 billion. That’s how much operating cash flow Amazon had as of the first quarter of this year, up from $54.3 billion recorded in the same period last year.

Tangent

Amazon’s blockbuster earnings came amid rising competition for its e-commerce business following the rapid expansion of rival companies such as Temu and Shein in the United States. Amazon has shifted its competitive focus to the Chinese companies lately, rather than U.S. rivals like Walmart and Target, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Key Background

Amazon is off to a strong start this year after reporting $170 billion in revenue in 2023. Despite last year's earnings boost, the company has recently cut costs amid an effort to explore new ways to increase revenue. In a recent job cut, Amazon reportedly laid off hundreds of sales, marketing and global services workers in the Amazon Web Services unit. The company has eliminated more than 27,000 jobs since 2022 as it looks to reverse a hiring surge during the pandemic, according to The New York Times. Earlier this month, the e-commerce giant launched a $9.99 monthly subscription program in 3,500 U.S cities and towns that allows Prime members and customers using electronic benefit transfer to receive unlimited grocery delivery on orders over $35 from Whole Foods Market, Amazon Fresh and other local grocery and specialty retailers.

Forbes Valuation

Bezos is worth an estimated $193.3 billion, according to the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List. The billionaire owns a little less than 10% of the company.