Amazon 1Q profit, revenue jump on strong sales
The recession may mean consumers are cutting discretionary spending, but Amazon.com didn't feel the pinch in its first quarter.
The Seattle-based online retailer said on Thursday that during the first three months of the year, earnings and revenue climbed thanks to strong sales of products such as books, DVDs and electronics.
The results are much different than the decline analysts were anticipating and indicate that the online retailer is faring well despite the ongoing recession.
Amazon.com Inc. said earnings climbed 24 percent to $177 million, or 41 cents per share, in the first quarter, compared with $143 million, or 34 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. And earnings beat the 31 cents per share analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected.
The company said revenue rose 18 percent to $4.89 billion, slightly higher than analysts' expectations of $4.76 billion.
Amazon expects second-quarter sales of $4.3 billion to $4.75 billion. Analysts have predicted $4.6 billion, which is within that range.
In the first quarter, sales of items such as books, CDs and DVDs rose 7 percent to $2.72 billion, while sales of electronics and other general merchandise rose nearly 39 percent to $2.05 billion.
By region, Amazon's North America sales rose 21 percent to $2.58 billion, while international sales rose 15 percent to $2.31 billion.
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