Amazon beats Q1 forecasts as AWS growth accelerates

(Sharecast News) - Amazon posted stronger‑than‑expected first‑quarter earnings on Wednesday, with revenue and cloud sales both coming in ahead of forecasts. Amazon said adjusted earnings per share rose to $2.78, well above the $1.64 expected, while revenue increased to $181.52bn, beating the $177.30bn consensus as Amazon Web Services delivered another strong quarter, with sales up 28% year‑on‑year to $37.59bn - its fastest growth in more than three years.

Advertising revenues also exceeded expectations at $17.24bn, while revenue from Amazon's online stores segment rose 12% to $64.3bn, topping expectations of $62.7bn.

The Seattle-based group said capital expenditure reached $44.2bn in the quarter, slightly above forecasts, while free cash flow over the past 12 months fell sharply to $1.2bn, which Amazon attributed to heavy investment in AI infrastructure.

For the second quarter, Amazon forecast revenues between $194bn and $199bn, ahead of the $188.9bn expected by analysts, while operating income was projected to come in between $20bn and $24bn, compared with the $22.65bn expected on the Street.

As of 2255 BST, Amazon shares were up 2.08% in extended trading at $268.50 each.





Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com