Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) Thursday reported lower-than-expected earnings for the September-quarter, driving the stock lower in the after-hours trading. Earnings declined, despite a double-digit rise in revenues. The top-line, meanwhile, exceeded the forecast. The company also provided guidance for the December-quarter.
At $70 billion, third-quarter revenues were higher by 24% than in the year-ago period. The top-line came in above the market’s estimates and the company’s own guidance.
All the three business segments witnessed double-digit sales growth, with Amazon Web Services leading with a 35% annual increase. ‘Other’, the reporting category that includes advertising, registered a 44% revenue growth.
Net income was $2.1 billion or $4.23 per share, down from last year’s profit of $2.9 billion or $5.75 per share. Analysts had forecast a higher bottom-line number for the most recent quarter.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said, “We are ramping up to make our 25th holiday season the best ever for Prime customers — with millions of products available for free one-day delivery. Customers love the transition of Prime from two days to one day — they’ve already ordered billions of items with free one-day delivery this year. It’s a big investment, and it’s the right long-term decision for customers.”
The management expects fourth-quarter sales to be in the range of $80.0 billion to $86.5 billion and operating income between $1.2 billion and $2.9 billion, which represents a marked reduction from $3.8 billion reported in the prior year period.
Among others, Walmart (WMT) is all set to unveil its third-quarter results on November 14, before the opening bell. Target Corp. (TGT) is expected to publish results for its most recent quarter on November 20 before the commencement of regular trading.
Amazon shares had a positive start to 2019 and gained about 9% since the beginning of the year. They closed Thursday’s regular session higher, but fell sharply during the extended hours following the earnings report.