Amazon.com, Inc.(NASDAQ:AMZN) shares jumped as much as 14 percent in after-hours trading on news of quarterly results that beat analysts estimates. The giant internet retailer hit an earnings of 45 cents per share for the quarter covering October to December, 1 cent more than twice Wall Street’s consensus expectations of 17 cents per share. Quarterly revenue growth is at 15 percent to $29.3 billion, almost hitting estimates of $30 billion. Excluding the adverse impact of foreign exchange, the rate would have been at 18 percent. About $895 million was recorded as an offset against revenue on account of year-on-year fluctuations in foreign exchange.
The report of earnings, against a backdrop of dismal third quarter performance that recorded the biggest loss for the company in a period of fourteen years, was a welcome news for Amazon.com, Inc.(NASDAQ:AMZN) investors. The retailer, however, grappled with operating expenses that surged to 20 percent at $89.8 billion, offsetting sales of $89 billion and resulting to a recorded a loss of $241 million for the whole fiscal year.
For the first quarter of this year, Amazon.com, Inc.(NASDAQ:AMZN) announced that it will separate reports of results for its AWS unit, which has been included in the “North America, Other” category in previous reports. “We just think it’s an appropriate way to look at our business in 2015,” chief financial officer Tom Szkutak said about the transition in reporting of financial results. He also noted that this year, the company will allocate more spending for data centers as well as fulfillment centers. According to him, such investment are paying off, noting that the $99 per year Amazon Prime fast-shipping program grew 53 percent in 2014, patronized by tens of millions of customers.
Amazon.com, Inc.(NASDAQ:AMZN) is expecting to generate a revenue of $20.9 billion to $22.9 billion for the first quarter of this year, while analysts on average expects a figure of $23 billion.
This article has been written by Nonito Guntan.
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