Amazon earnings results: AMZN stock rallies after hours from AI-fueled AWS growth, Q1 sales and profit beats

• Amazon reported first-quarter earnings on Tuesday.

• The company beat estimates for net sales and earnings per share.

• Shares rose as much as 3% in after-hours trading.

Amazon reported first-quarter earnings on Wednesday after the closing bell.

The company handily exceeded estimates for net sales and earnings per share, including a beat for the closely watched Amazon Web Services (AWS) division, which saw net revenue of $25 billion.

Amazon is seeing "considerable momentum" on the AI front, which is helping AWS to a $100 billion annual run-rate, it said.

Amazon's stock rose as much as 3% in volatile after-hours trading after the results as investors focused more on the first-quarter beat than slightly weak second-quarter guidance. The stock slid 3.3% on Tuesday, but has gained 15% so far in 2024.

Amazon's shares are still up as the call ends

The stock hovered just under the 3% mark in after-hours trading.

Amazon Fresh's new format and the company's grocery delivery service are also taking off

The company has launched Amazon Fresh new-format stores primarily in Chicago and south California, and "we like the early results," said the execs, saying they are "really meaningfully better in almost every dimension."

Meanwhile, its new Amazon Prime grocery offering is "very valuable, I think, for our Prime members, and off to a great start."

CEO says Amazon's Prime Video ads are off to a good start

While still in its early days, Amazon's introduction of ads to its streaming service's movies and TV shows appears to have been resonating with advertisers.

"I think advertisers are excited about being able to expand their ability to advertise and as video beyond Twitch and Freevee," the Amazon CEO says.

CEO says AWS is seeing strong customer demand for generative AI and non-generative AI workloads

CEO Jassy says customers are "signing up for longer deals and making bigger commitments."

"It's still relatively early days in general AI and more broadly, the cloud space and we see sizable opportunity for growth," the CEO adds.

But he warned that spending will "meaningfully increase" year over year in 2024, partly because of higher infrastructure spending on growth efforts like generative AI.

On a macro level, he notes that spending in Europe is "a bit weaker" compared to expenditure in the US.

Investors are keen to hear about Amazon's AI strategy, and got some color early in the call

"We see considerable momentum on the AI front where we've accumulated a multi-billion-dollar revenue run rate already," CEO Andy Jassy said on the call.

That's helped AWS to a $100 billion annual run-rate, Amazon reported earlier.

Amazon's investor call kicks off on Tuesday afternoon

Analysts and investors will be listening for more details on the e-commerce giant's Q1 earnings.

Amazon's CFO says customers are trending toward buying cheaper items

CFO Brian T. Olsavsky said on a call with journalists including Business Insider that shoppers are being very thoughtful about their spending.

"They look for deals, they trade down and look for lower ASP (average sale price) products," Olsavsky said.

People are buying "a lot more consumables and everyday essentials," which tend to be lower-priced — a trend that's continuing into this current quarter.

"So we're seeing strong unit growth, but our average sale prices are not growing as fast as are down, and so revenue growth is below the unit growth rate," the CFO said.

Amazon's ecommerce turnaround is still showing momentum, analyst says

"While the core e-commerce business is no longer the biggest growth driver, it remains an essential component of the Amazon flywheel, particularly in propelling its ad business," Blake Droesch, a senior analyst at market research firm Emarketer, a sister company to Business Insider, wrote in a note.

The analyst added that Amazon's commitment to free and fast delivery through Amazon Prime will "keep customers coming to the site." The e-commerce giant said in its earnings release that it delivered to Prime members at its "fastest speed yet."

Amazon's AI-powered assistant, Q, is now widely available

The announcement comes after the company unveiled Q last November to select AWS customers.

Amazon's cloud division calls Q its "most capable" generative AI tool for "accelerating software development" and "leveraging companies' internal data," according to its latest press release.

Q can generate code and fix bugs. When deployed internally, it could also help employees get answers to questions related to company policies and product information, according to the company.

Amazon stock rises 3% in after-hours trading after 1st-quarter beat.

The stock had slid 3.3% on Tuesday, but has gained 15% so far in 2024.

Amazon handily beats estimates for 1st-quarter net sales and EPS, 2nd-quarter outlook slightly soft.

1st quarter

• Net sales: $143.31 billion, +13% y/y, estimate $142.59 billion

  • Online stores net sales: $54.67 billion, +7% y/y, estimate $54.77 billion

  • Physical Stores net sales: $5.20 billion, +6.3% y/y, estimate $5.08 billion

  • Third-Party Seller Services net sales: $34.60 billion, +16% y/y, estimate $34.63 billion

  • AWS net sales: $25.04 billion, +17% y/y, estimate $24.11 billion

  • North America net sales: $86.34 billion, +12% y/y, estimate $85.55 billion

  • International net sales: $31.94 billion, +9.7% y/y, estimate $32.47 billion

• Third-party seller services net sales excluding F/X: +16% vs. +20% y/y, estimate +15.8%

• Amazon Web Services net sales excluding F/X: +17% vs. +16% y/y, estimate +14.5%

• EPS: 98c vs. $1 q/q, estimate 83c

• Operating income: $15.31 billion vs. $4.77 billion y/y, estimate $10.95 billion

  • Operating margin: 10.7% vs. 3.7% y/y, estimate 7.63%

  • North America operating margin: +5.8% vs. +1.2% y/y, estimate +4.92%

  • International operating margin: 2.8% vs. -4.3% y/y, estimate -1.85%

• Fulfillment expense: $22.32 billion, +6.8% y/y, estimate $22.4 billion

• Seller unit mix: 61% vs. 59% y/y, estimate 59.5%

2nd quarter

• Sees net sales of $144.0 billion to $149.0 billion, estimate $150.21 billion

• Sees operating of income $10.0 billion to $14.0 billion, estimate $12.56 billion

Source: Bloomberg data

BMO: Primed to outperform

Amazon is set to grow more than expected in the second half of the year, BMO predicts. AWS growth could notch 15% by the end of 2024, analysts predicted, up from previous estimates of 14%.

The impact of Rufus, Amazon's AI shopping assistant, is also "underappreciated," the bank said.

"Amazon retail is a significant beneficiary of generative AI, which helps surface users' most relevant product recommendations and create pick paths for associates in FCs," analysts wrote in a note.

The firm raised its price target for Amazon stock to $215 a share, implying 21% upside from current levels.

Needham: Amazon among the winners in AI

Amazon is expected to outperform across multiple profit metrics, Needham analysts said.

"We believe that cost cutting, as well as Cloud and Advertising rev growth ... will result in overdelivery of FCF and ROICs, which should lead to a valuation multiple expansion," analysts said in a recent note.

They predicted the company would be among the top two or three winners of the AI race that's gripped Wall Street.

However, the bank noted that Amazon's business still faces risks, including weak consumer demand and rising competition.

Goldman Sachs: Top eCommerce pick into first quarter

Amazon is a top pick in the eCommerce sector, Goldman analysts said. The bank pointed to the company's resilient retail demand and expected growth in AWS and ad revenue.

"Our industry work and the third-party data sources we surveyed point to online consumer spending remaining resilient in Q1'24. But we see a wide dispersion of results between companies," the analysts wrote.

The bank maintained its "Buy" rating and $220 price target, implying a 22% upside from the stock's current levels.

Wells Fargo: Healthy trends for the first quarter

Amazon looks to be on a good trajectory, especially considering that the company is looking to change its fee structure for its Fulfillment by Amazon program. That alone could drive up to $1.2 billion in incremental operating income compared to the previous quarter, Wells Fargo analysts estimated.

"Believe revenue recognized from enterprise cloud migrations still relatively tepid in 1Q but commitments in place for 2H acceleration," the bank said in a recent note.

Analysts raised their price target for Amazon stock to $217, implying a 20% upside from current levels.

Bank of America: Top stock drivers are in play

Amazon is expected to post healthy growth over the first quarter, BofA analysts said. The bank pointed to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy's letter to shareholders, which suggested positive progress in retail margins, AWS, and ad revenue — areas that are all "top stock drivers" for the company.

"We expect a 1Q beat, and while 2Q set up has some unusual q/q hurdles, we expect positive 1Q metrics and call commentary to be constructive & consistent with the recent Shareholder Letter," the note said.

BofA analysts reiterated their "Buy" rating and $204 price target for the stock, implying a 13% upside from its current levels.

Amazon's consensus first-quarter net sales estimate is $142.59 billion

1st quarter

• Net sales estimate: $142.59 billion

  • Online stores net sales estimate: $54.77 billion

  • Physical Stores net sales estimate: $5.08 billion

  • Third-Party Seller Services net sales estimate: $34.63 billion

  • Subscription Services net sales estimate: $10.83 billion

  • AWS net sales estimate: $24.11 billion

  • North America net sales estimate: $85.55 billion

  • International net sales estimate: $32.47 billion

• Third-party seller services net sales excluding F/X estimate: +15.8%

• Subscription services net sales excluding F/X estimate: +12.1%

• Amazon Web Services net sales excluding F/X estimate: +14.5%

• EPS estimate: 82c

• Operating income estimate: $10.95 billion

  • Operating margin estimate: 7.63%

  • North America operating margin estimate: +4.92%

  • International operating margin estimate: -1.85%

• Fulfillment expense estimate: $22.4 billion

• Seller unit mix estimate: 59.4%

2nd quarter

• Net sales estimate: $150.21 billion

• Operating income estimate: $12.54 billion

Source: Bloomberg data

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