Is Amazon Growing Fast Enough for Investors?

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 30, 2:08PM EST · Published Oct 24, 4:15PM EDT

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Is Amazon Growing Fast Enough for Investors? — © Muhla1 / Getty Images

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN | AMZN Price Prediction) released third-quarter financial results after markets closed Thursday. The e-commerce empire said that it had $4.23 in earnings per share (EPS) and $69.98 billion in revenue, compared with consensus estimates that called for $4.62 in EPS and $68.81 billion in revenue. The same period of last year reportedly had $5.75 in EPS and $56.58 billion in revenue.

During the most recent quarter, Amazon Web Services (AWS) revenues increased 34.7% to $8.995 billion, up from $6.68 billion in the same period of last year, with operating income of $2.26 billion.

In terms of its other segments Amazon reported:

North American net sales increased 24% to $42.64 billion, with operating income of $1.28 billion.
International sales increased 18% to $18.35 billion, with an operating loss of $386 million.

As for guidance, the company expects to see net sales in the range of $80.0 billion to $86.5 billion, with operating income of $1.2 billion to $2.9 billion in the fourth quarter. The consensus estimates call for $6.49 in EPS on $87.37 billion in revenue for the quarter.

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Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO, commented:

We are ramping up to make our 25th holiday season the best ever for Prime customers — with millions of products available for free one-day delivery. Customers love the transition of Prime from two days to one day — they’ve already ordered billions of items with free one-day delivery this year. It’s a big investment, and it’s the right long-term decision for customers. And although it’s counterintuitive, the fastest delivery speeds generate the least carbon emissions because these products ship from fulfillment centers very close to the customer — it simply becomes impractical to use air or long ground routes.

Shares of Amazon closed Thursday at $1,780.78, in a 52-week range of $1,307.00 to $2,035.80. The consensus price target is $2,302.13. Following the announcement, the stock was down about 7% at $1,659.78 in the after-hours session.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.