Amazon smashes expectations with sales of $51bn for the first quarter
Amazon smashed analyst expectations tonight with stellar revenue and profit figures for the first quarter.
The online retailer’s shares jumped more than seven per cent in after hours trading following the announcement.
Amazon’s sales increased by 43 per cent to $51bn (£36.7bn), from $35.7bn last year.
Read more: Top retailers pull ahead of other business sectors
Profit more than doubled with net income of $1.6bn, or $3.27 a share, up from $724m, or $1.48 a share, for the same quarter last year.
The results exceeded analyst expectations of sales of $49.9bn and earnings of $1.24 a share.
Amazon also delivered a bullish forecast for the second quarter with sales expected to be between $51bn and $54bn, which would equate to 34 to 42 per cent growth compared to the second quarter in 2017.
Read more: Facebook beats market expectations in first quarter results
Joe Egan of WPP’s Mindshare, said: “With concerns of brand safety and trust showing no signs of abating, coupled with the trajectory of growth on Amazon, the duopoly of Facebook and Google should be concerned where future ad revenue opportunities lie.”
Facebook and Google parent company Alphabet revealed similarly strong first quarter results this week.
Read more: Google parent Alphabet unveils soaring profits in the first quarter
On Monday Alphabet announced a 73 per cent jump in profit to $9.4bn, while revenue for the quarter increased nearly 26 per cent to $31.1bn, up from $24.7bn.
Facebook announced its results yesterday, delivering revenue of nearly $12bn, up 49 per cent on the same quarter last year.