Services

Amazon Doubles Earnings, But Are Investors Impressed?

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) released fourth-quarter financial results after markets closed Tuesday. The e-commerce empire said that it had $14.09 in earnings per share (EPS) and $125.6 billion in revenue, compared with consensus estimates that called for $7.23 in EPS and $119.7 billion in revenue. In the same period of last year, Amazon reported $6.47 in EPS and $87.44 billion in revenue.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) revenues increased 28.0% to $12.74 billion, up from $9.95 billion in the same period of last year, with operating income of $3.56 billion.

In its other segments Amazon reported:

  • North American net sales increased 40.4% to $75.35 billion, with an operating income of $2.95 billion.
  • International sales increased 57.3% to $37.47 billion, with operating income of $3.56 billion.

As for guidance, the company expects to see net sales in the range of $100.0 billion to $106.0 billion, with operating income in the range of $3.0 billion to $6.5 billion in the first quarter. The consensus estimates call for $9.07 in EPS on $95.69 billion in revenue for the quarter.

On the books, cash and cash equivalents totaled $36.41 billion at the end of the quarter, versus $32.17 billion at the end of the same period last year. Operating cash flow increased 56% to $55.3 billion for the trailing twelve months versus $35.3 billion in the same period last year. At the same time, free cash flow increased to $29.5 billion, compared with $23.5 billion.

Shares of Amazon closed Tuesday at $3,380.00, in a 52-week range of $1,626.03 to $3,552.25. The consensus price target is $3,831.77. Following the announcement, the stock was relatively flat at $3,362.00 in the after-hours session.

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