Amazon Q1: AWS outperformed expectations, solid Q2 guidance, up over 11% after hours and then turned down

By business, North America contributed revenue of $76.9 billion in the first quarter, an 11% year-over-year growth rate, higher than market expectations of $75.54 billion;

International business revenue grew 1% year-over-year to $29.1 billion, higher than market expectations of $27.65 billion;

AWS business revenue grew 16% year-over-year to $21.4 billion, a year-over-year growth rate of five consecutive quarters to decline, but still higher than market expectations AWS revenue grew 16 percent year-over-year to $21.4 billion, down from five consecutive quarters, but still above market expectations of $21.03 billion.

Operating profit rose 30 percent year-over-year to $4.77 billion, above market expectations of $3 billion, and operating profit margin was 3.7 percent, up from 3.2 percent in the same quarter last year and 2.4 percent in the same quarter last year.

However, on a segmented basis, AWS' operating margin was just 24%, falling to its lowest level since the second quarter of 2017;

The operating margin for the North American business turned positive after five quarters at 1.17%;

And the operating margin for the international business remained negative at -4.28%, narrowing significantly compared to the previous five quarters.

Amazon's results show that the company's efforts to reduce costs are starting to pay off. Operating expenses rose 8.7 percent in the first quarter, the lowest increase in at least a decade.