Amazon frustrates market expectations in balance – 02/02/2023 – Market

Amazon forecast on Thursday that its operating profit could continue to fall as consumer and customer spending constraints at its cloud computing business tightened.

And while revenue for the final quarter of 2022 beat Wall Street’s expectations, sales growth for the lucrative cloud division has slowed.

As it plans to cut costs, Amazon is seeking new revenue in the face of higher gasoline and consumer prices.

Amazon estimated operating profit of between $0 billion and $4 billion in the current quarter, compared with $3.7 billion in the same period a year ago. Analysts were expecting $4.04 billion, according to FactSet.

The company recorded quarterly sales above analysts’ expectations, according to results released on Thursday, as the retailer’s holiday deals helped attract shoppers.

Amazon took advantage of its huge Prime subscriber base and offered attractive discounts that helped boost sales on its e-commerce platform despite the economic turmoil.

The world’s biggest online retailer said it expects net sales of between $121 billion and $126 billion this first quarter. Analysts projected $125.11 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Amazon’s net sales were $149.2 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with analyst expectations of $145.42 billion.