Amazon (AMZN) reported first quarter earnings that topped Wall Street estimates on the top and bottom lines, sending shares of the retail giant up as much as 5% in after hours trading.
Powered by a strong showing from its cloud computing segment, Amazon continued a wave of Big Tech results that have mostly wowed Wall Street, even as investors turn their focus to the conclusion of the Fed’s May policy meeting on Wednesday.
The company touted that its industry-leading AWS business is on course to generate $100 billion in revenue annually.
Here are some of Amazon’s most significant metrics in the company’s fiscal first quarter, according to data from Bloomberg:
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Net Sales: $143.3 billion vs. $142.6 billion expected ($127.4 billion in Q1 2023)
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Adjusted earnings per share: $0.98 vs. $0.83 expected ($0.31 in Q1 2023)
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Amazon Web Services: $25 billion vs. $24.1 billion expected ($21.4 billion in Q1 2023)
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Advertising: $11.8 billion vs. $11.8 billion expected ($9.5 billion in Q1 2023)
CFO Brian Olsavsky said overall capex is expected to meaningfully increase this year, compared to the nearly $50 billion in 2023, driven by higher infrastructure costs to support growth in AWS, including generative AI.
The quarter’s $14 billion in capex is expected to rise for future periods, Olsavsky said. Amazon is seeing strong demand on the AWS side, with customers signing up for longer deals with bigger commitments, many with generative AI components, he said.
Amazon’s report arrived a week after its cloud rival and AI competitor Microsoft (MSFT) posted an impressive quarter, beating expectations on the strength of its cloud computing business. The market cheered even louder for Google parent Alphabet’s (GOOG, GOOGL) results, which outperformed on the top and bottom lines and came with an announcement of a new dividend, the latest in a trend among tech giants.
Amazon, which has positioned itself as an AI leader, is another player in the race to claim market share and launch new consumer services. In March, Amazon increased its investment in the AI startup Anthropic, pouring in another $2.75 billion to bring its investment total to $4 billion.
Like its competitors Microsoft and Alphabet, Amazon is wielding its heft in its cloud computing business to gain an edge in the nascent AI market. AI tools require huge amounts of data and processing power to train and run large language models and their applications, relying on cloud providers to supply vital infrastructure.
Amazon’s stock, which joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) in February, is up about 20% for the year.
Hamza Shaban is a reporter for Yahoo Finance covering markets and the economy. Follow Hamza on Twitter @hshaban.
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