Amazon exceeds expectations and records record revenues in the first quarter of 2024, never so good in the first three months of the year. Driving earnings is growing interest in artificial intelligence, which has spurred the growth of cloud computing. The sales they increased by 13% to 143,3 billion dollars, with a net profit of 10,4 billion. In the North American division, operating profits rose more than fivefold to $5 billion, while sales grew 12% to $86,3 billion.
The outlook is less rosy. The Forecasts for the current quarter they are 144,0-149,0 billion dollars, slightly below of analysts' expectations. Meanwhile, however, Amazon shares have grown by 16% since the beginning of the year.
“It was a good start to the year and we can see it in the improved consumer experience and financial results,” said the CEO Andy jassy, which now sees “a huge opportunity ahead of us” in serving AI customers.
Despite cutting at least 27.000 jobs last year, Amazon ended the quarter with 1,52 million employees, 4.000 fewer than at the end of 2023 but still 56.000 more than the previous year.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is growing
Amazon Web Services (AWS), a leader in cloud services, reported a 17% increase in revenue to $25 billion in the first quarter. Operating profits increased 84%. This success is partly attributable to the integration of artificial intelligence capabilities, allowing the company to forecast annual revenue in the segment of at least 100 billion dollars.
The search for artificial intelligence
On the AI front, Amazon is investing heavily. It's already the main investor in the startup Anthropic, as Microsoft did in OpenAI, into which it poured 4 billion dollars. Has Amazon Q chatbot introduced for businesses last year and is now expanding this offering through AWS. This year he also announced the Rufus throw, a new intelligent digital assistant, on Amazon's mobile app to help customers find new products.
Advertising goes up with streaming
La advertising revenue it rose 24% to $11,82 billion thanks to the opening of Prime Video ads starting in January. Customers can opt out of viewing ads by paying $2,99 per month. Amazon produced 20 original films and TV series in the quarter, including the show Fallout, which attracted 65 million global viewers. The company has further boosted streaming and film production since acquiring MGM Studios for more than six billion dollars two years ago.
