Amazon CEO Andy Jassy speaks during the GeekWire Summit in Seattle on Oct. 5, 2021.
David Ryder | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Amazon shares slid more than 6% in extended trading on Thursday after the company reported second-quarter results that exceeded expectations, but it gave light operating income guidance for the current period.
Here’s how the company did, compared with estimates from analysts polled by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $1.68 vs. $1.33 estimated
- Revenue: $167.7 billion vs. $162.09 billion estimated
Wall Street is also looking at other key revenue numbers:
- Amazon Web Services: $30.87 billion vs. $30.8 billion estimated, according to StreetAccount
- Advertising: $15.7 billion vs. $14.9 billion estimated, according to StreetAccount
Amazon’s second-quarter sales grew 13% year over year to $167.7 billion, an acceleration from a year ago, when revenue expanded 10%.
For the current quarter, Amazon said it expects operating income to land between $15.5 billion and $20.5 billion. Analysts were looking for $19.48 billion, according to StreetAccount.
The guidance spooked investors who are eager to see Amazon’s hefty investments in artificial intelligence pay off. The company has committed to spend up to $100 billion this year on AI as it races to build out data centers and software.
“Our AI progress across the board continues to improve our customer experiences, speed of innovation, operational efficiency, and business growth, and I’m excited for what lies ahead,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in the earnings release.
Revenue in the third quarter is forecast to be $174 billion to $179.5 billion, representing growth of 10% to 13% year over year. Analysts surveyed by StreetAccount forecast $173.1 billion in revenue.
The company’s cloud computing unit saw its revenue climb 18% year over year to $30.87 billion in the second quarter. Analysts polled by StreetAccount had expected $30.8 billion.
Amazon Web Services continues to lead the cloud infrastructure market, but it’s facing heightened competition from Microsoft and Google, as the three tech giants ramp up investments to take advantage of the AI boom.
While AWS remains in the top spot, revenue growth of about 18% in the quarter trailed Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, which recorded growth rates in the latest period of 39% and 32%, respectively.
Amazon’s advertising business was a particularly bright spot in the results. Ad revenue grew 23% year over year to $15.69 billion in the second quarter, beating StreetAccount estimates of $14.99 billion.
The online retail giant’s online advertising unit is dwarfed by Amazon’s retail and cloud units, but it’s become a growing profit center and is also the third biggest digital ad platform, trailing Meta and Alphabet.
Meta said Wednesday that its second-quarter sales, the bulk of which are derived from online advertising, grew 22% year over year. Google‘s advertising sales rose 10% year over year in the second quarter, its parent company Alphabet said last week.
For the second quarter in a row, Amazon included “recessionary fears,” along with “tariff and trade policies,” as factors that could affect its guidance. President Donald Trump’s shifting trade policies stand to impact its core retail business the most, though consumer spending has proven to be more resilient than analysts feared.
Jassy said on a call with investors that the tariffs haven’t dented demand or driven up prices so far this year.
“If costs end up being higher, we will absorb them,” Jassy added.
Sales in Amazon’s online stores unit grew 11% year over year to $61.5 billion during the quarter, topping Wall Street’s projected $59 billion, according to StreetAccount.
Seller services revenue reached $40.3 billion, which was a 11% year over year increase. Analysts were expecting $38.7 billion in revenue.
— CNBC’s Jonathan Vanian contributed reporting to this article.
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