Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) shares surged almost 8% on Friday after the e-commerce giant reported better-than-expected holiday quarter sales and offered a positive outlook for the coming months.
The e-commerce giant Amazon has reported net sales of $170 billion for the fourth quarter, outperforming expectations by $3.8 billion. This marks a 14% increase from the nearly $150 billion generated in the same period last year.
CEO Andy Jassy, in the earnings release, said:
“This Q4 was a record-breaking Holiday shopping season and closed out a robust 2023 for Amazon.”
Key Metrics Beat Wall Street Forecasts
Here’s a quick rundown of Amazon’s key figures for the fourth quarter compared to Wall Street’s forecasts.
- Revenue: Amazon raked in $169.9 billion, above the expected $166.2 billion (compared to $149.2 billion in Q4 2022).
- Adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.00, outperforming the expected $0.78 ($0.03 in Q4 2022).
- Amazon Web Services: The e-commerce giant reported $24.20 billion in revenue, slightly below the expected $24.22 billion ($21.4 billion in Q4 2022).
- Advertising: Amazon’s advertising revenue surged to $14.7 billion, outpacing the projected $14.2 billion ($11.6 billion in Q4 2022).
The company’s forecast for the current quarter also beat expectations, with an upper-range estimate of $143.5 billion.
This financial triumph comes on the heels of recent job cuts, including several hundred roles at Prime Video and MGM Studios and a significant reduction in staff at Twitch, the company’s video game live-streaming platform, where over 500 people were laid off.
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) Stock Reaction
AMZN stock rose 7.87% to close at $171.81 on Friday. The traders had exchanged hands with 115,957,720 (115.95 million) shares compared to the average daily trading volume of 47.20 million.
Edward Cooke is a financial analyst, freelance writer, and editor. He has six years of experience in financial journalism. He has an in-depth understanding of equities markets, tracking major indices and providing real-time analysis on stock price movements, corporate earnings, and market sentiment.
