Amazon shares are trading higher in late trading Thursday after the e-commerce and cloud computing company posted better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter.
Results were driven by strength in the company’s core e-commerce business, which had a strong holiday selling season, as well as continued growth in ad revenue. The company’s Amazon Web Services business expanded 13% in the quarter from a year earlier, in line with estimates.
For the quarter, Amazon posted total sales of $170 billion, up 14%, and ahead of the company’s forecasted range of $160 billion to $167 billion. Profits were $1 a share, ahead of the Wall Street consensus forecast of 79 cents. Operating income was $13.2 billion, above the company’s guidance range of $7 billion to $11 billion.
Revenue at Amazon Web Services was $24.2 billion, up 13% and right in line with Wall Street estimates.
Online store sales were $70.5 billion, up 9%, above the Street consensus at $68.7 billion. Revenue from third-party seller services was $43.6 billion, up 20%, and likewise ahead of consensus, at $42.1 billion.
Advertising revenue in the quarter was up 27% to $14.7 billion, well above the Street consensus at $14 billion.
Subscription revenue was $10.5 billion, up 14%, and a little ahead of the Street forecast at $10.3 billion.
For the first quarter, Amazon sees revenue of $138 billion to $143.5 billion, up 8% to 13%, with operating income of between $8 billion as $12 billion. The Street consensus had called for $142.3 billion in revenue and operating income of $8.8 billion.
“This Q4 was a record-breaking Holiday shopping season and closed out a robust 2023 for Amazon,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a statement. “While we made meaningful revenue, operating income, and free cash flow progress, what we’re most pleased with is the continued invention and customer experience improvements across our businesses.”
Amazon shares were up 7.5% in after-hours trading following the report.
