Amazon Flag Weak Q2 After Bumper Earnings
E-commerce and tech behemoth, Amazon, has post better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, warning second-quarter results will fall below market forecasts.
First quarter revenue notched US$59.7 billion, versus US$59.68 billion analysts expected – up from US$51.04 billion last year.
Earnings per share hit a whopping US$7.09, versus US$4.67 forecast by most analysts. It follows US$3.27 a share the year prior.
The company’s cloud computing business, Amazon Web Services, continues to be a cash cow, with sales soaring 42% year-on-year to US$7.7 billion.
AWS operating profit jumped 59% from the year-ago quarter to US$2.2 billion.
Despite the stellar results, Amazon warns Q2 revenue and earnings will be below market forecasts – flagging operating profit ~US$1.2 billion under analysts expectations.
Q2 revenue is forecast to notch $US59.5 billion – $US63.5 billion. Outlook contrasts $US62.37 billion analysts projected, and $US52.9 billion reported the same time last year.
Operating profit is expected to notch $US2.6 billion – $US3.6 billion, down from $US4.2 billion expected.
For the quarter, Amazon’s international business grew by 16% (exc. foreign exchange fluctuations) to US$16.2 billion.
The company’s advertising division saw a notable slowdown, whilst its direct e-commerce business climbed 12% to $US29.5 billion.