Amazon sales forecast may top Street
Strong Prime Day, gains in India market boost Q3 projections
Amazon.com projected revenue for the third quarter that may beat analysts’ estimates, after a second Prime Day event led to record device sales and an expansion in India is paying off.
Revenue in the current quarter will be $31 billion to $33.5 billion, the company said Thursday.
Analysts estimated $31.6 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Sales gained 31 percent to $30.4 billion in the second quarter compared with analysts’ projections of $29.6 billion.
Amazon reported net income of $857 million, or $1.78 a share, in the second quarter. Analysts estimated profit of $1.12 a share.
Amazon Web Services revenue increased 58 percent to $2.89 billion from a year earlier.
The company said its second Prime Day in July generated 60 percent more sales than the first event a year earlier.
Amazon dominates ecommerce in the U.S. with its $99 Amazon Prime annual subscription, which includes delivery discounts, music and video streaming and photo storage that keep shoppers engaged with the company.
It continues to invest in logistics to set the pace on fast delivery, offering to get tens of thousands of items to customers in as little as an hour in many cities.
The fast-growing and profitable cloud computing division Amazon Web Services has reinvigorated investors, allaying concerns about razor-thin margins from e-commerce sales and helping make Chief Executive Jeff Bezos the fourthrichest man in the world.