Amazon stock jumps 6%; Q3 revenue up 11% to $158.9B; profits hit $15.3B; AWS sales up 19%

Amazon topped estimates for its third quarter earnings, reporting $158.9 billion in revenue, up 11% year-over-year, and earnings per share of $1.43. Profits jumped to $15.3 billion, from $9.9 billion in the year-ago period.

Analysts expected revenue of $157 billion and earnings per share of $1.14.

Shares were up 6% in after-hours trading on Thursday. Amazon stock is up more than 40% in the past 12 months.

Amazon’s two big profit drivers, Amazon Web Services and advertising, both posted year-over-year revenue growth of 19%.

Overall operating income reached $17.4 billion in the first quarter, compared to $11.2 billion a year ago.

Here’s a breakdown of Amazon’s financials for the third quarter.

Online stores: Revenue was up 7% year-over-year at $61.4 billion. This includes sales from Amazon’s annual Prime Day sale in July.

Amazon Web Services: Amazon’s cloud business was up 19% at $27.4 billion, with $10.4 billion in operating income, up 50% from the year-ago period.

• Investors are keeping a close eye on the impact of AI adoption on cloud computing giants. Both Google and Microsoft reported strong results for their respective cloud units this week.

Advertising: The company’s ad business brought in $14.3 billion in revenue in the quarter, up 19% over a year ago.

Third-party seller services: Revenue from third-party seller services was up 10% to $37.8 billion.

• Third-party sellers account for more than 60% of units sold for Amazon, a number that has steadily increased over the years.
• Amazon has been expanding services and products for third-party merchants, including various generative AI tools for sellers in recent months.

Shipping costs: Amazon spent $23.5 billion on shipping in Q3, up 8%.

Physical stores: The category, which includes Whole Foods and other Amazon grocery stores, posted revenue of $5.2 billion, up 5%. 

Headcount: Amazon now employs 1.55 million million people, up 3% year-over-year. That figure does not include seasonal and contract workers.

• Amazon is aiming for 250,000 U.S. hires during the 2024 holiday season, matching its target from the prior year.
• The company is aiming increase the ratio of individual contributors to managers in its corporate workforce, as CEO Andy Jassy noted in a recent memo.

Prime: Subscription services revenue, which includes Prime memberships, came in at $11.2 billion, up 11%. 

Guidance: The company forecasts Q4 sales of $181.5 to $188.5 billion. Operating income is expected to range between $16 billion and $20 billion.