Amazon sales beat estimates as pandemic shopping continues
SEATTLE: Amazon.com Inc. reported a big increase in sales and gave a bullish forecast, continuing a streak of rapid growth even as vaccine roll-outs raised the prospect of a return to prepandemic shopping habits in the US. First-quarter revenue jumped 44% to $108.5 billion, exceeding analysts’ estimates. Earnings were $15.79 a share, also better than expected.
Sales will be between $110 billion and $116 billion in the quarter ending in June, the Seattlebased company said Thursday in a statement. Analysts, on average, estimated sales of $108.4 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “Fantastic quarter,” said Poonam Goyal, a senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “Good all around and shows the staying power of changing consumer habits that will lean more toward digital.”
The shares rose about 3% in extended trading, putting them on course for a record when trading opens in New York on Friday. The stock has gained about 45% in the last 12 months.
Amazon said Prime Day, the company’s shopping bonanza for members of its $119-a-year free shipping program, will take place in the second quarter. That may help the company’s spring results look rosier compared with a period in 2020 when many people were in the midst of lockdowns and shopping almost exclusively online.
Amazon has been among the biggest beneficiaries of the pandemic, as crowd-averse shoppers rushed online. Earlier this month, CEO Jeff Bezos said the company had 200 million Prime subscribers, compared with 150 million at the start of 2020. But with the vaccine roll-out well underway in the US, Amazon’s largest market, investors have been scrutinising data for signs that consumers will start spending more money at physical stores, eating out and travelling.