Amazon (AMZN) has reported third-quarter financial results that beat Wall Street forecasts across the board as sales in the company’s core e-commerce business continue to accelerate.
Seattle-based Amazon announced earnings per share (EPS) of $0.94 U.S. compared to $0.58 U.S. that had been expected among analysts who track the company.
Revenue in Q3 came in at $143.1 billion U.S. compared to $141.4 billion U.S. that was anticipated, according to data from LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) posted sales of $23.1 billion U.S. versus $23.2 billion U.S. expected. Advertising revenue totaled $12.1 billion U.S. compared to $11.6 billion U.S. that was forecast.
Revenue in the July through September quarter rose 13% from a year earlier driven largely by an acceleration in the company’s e-commerce sales.
Amazon said that its core e-commerce business saw sales grow 7% year-over-year in Q3 after expanding 4% in this year’s second quarter.
The Q3 numbers include the results from Amazon’s July Prime Day, which the company called its “biggest ever” sales event.
Digital advertising revenue increased 26% in Q3 from a year earlier, outpacing rivals Alphabet (GOOGL) and Meta Platforms (META) which saw Q3 ad growth of 9% and 23% respectively.
In cloud computing, Amazon Web Services (AWS) saw growth in the quarter of 12%. Growth at AWS has slowed in recent quarters as businesses cutback spending.
Amazon’s cost cutting measures implemented earlier this year have boosted the company’s profit margins. Amazon reported an operating margin of 7.8%, the highest level in two years.
Amazon has laid off 27,000 employees since autumn 2022, and it has terminated some of its more unprofitable and speculative business ventures.
Looking ahead, Amazon executives said fourth-quarter sales, which include the key holiday sales season, will be between $160 billion U.S. and $167 billion U.S. Analysts had called for Q4 revenue of $166.6 billion U.S.
Amazon’s stock has risen 8% over the past 12 months and currently trades at $119.57 U.S. per share.
Tech Insider
