Major US online shopping company $Amazon (AMZN.US)$Financial results for the fiscal year ending 2024/4/6 (2nd quarter) were announced after 1 day of local closing. Amazon shares fell due to overtime trading. The company's third-quarter operating profit forecast fell short of analysts' expectations.
Although sales of the cloud business Amazon Web Services (AWS) maintained high double-digit growth in the 2nd quarter, the overall sales outlook for the 3rd quarter was unclear, and there was a red light for sluggish demand in the cloud business. Meanwhile, Amazon's profit forecast for the third quarter also fell short of expectations, indicating that profitability is under pressure because high-tech companies are investing large amounts of money in the artificial intelligence (AI) field.
Earnings Highlights
Amazon's second-quarter sales and operating profit growth slowed to 10% and 91%, but they exceeded expectations. Sales of the cloud business AWS increased by nearly 19%, exceeding expectations. The sales forecast for the third quarter is at least 8%, which is the lowest growth rate in the past year and a half. The operating profit forecast decelerated sharply, and profit increased by at least 3%. To an AI service that exceeds expectations...