WASHINGTON – Amazon’s third-quarter profits have tripled from a year ago on strong retail sales during the pandemic and growth in cloud computing, the company announced yesterday.
Profits increased to US$6.3 billion (RM26.19 billion) compared with US$2.1 billion a year ago, while revenues jumped 37% to US$96 billion for the technology and retail colossus.
Shares in Amazon, which saw gains in both retail and cloud computing, dipped around 1% in after-hours trading following the earnings report.
The results come as Amazon and other tech giants are under intense scrutiny in the US and elsewhere for their growing dominance of key economic sectors.
The big-tech firms have held strong in the Covid-19 crisis by offering goods and connectivity for consumers staying at home.
Amazon has also faced criticism for how it manages its “marketplace” of third-party sellers.
Chief executive Jeff Bezos used the update to tout the company’s leadership on minimum wage as it bolsters its global workforce to about one million.
“Two years ago, we increased Amazon’s minimum wage to US$15 for all full-time, part-time, temporary and seasonal employees across the US, and challenged other large employers to do the same.”
While a small number of rivals has followed, he said, “now would be a great time” for others to do so.
“We’re proud to have created over 400,000 jobs this year alone. We’re seeing more customers than ever shopping early for their holiday gifts, which is just one of the signs that this is going to be an unprecedented holiday season.”
The firm said its cloud division, Amazon Web Services, saw a revenue growth of 28% in the quarter to US$11.6 billion.
That growth and a weaker-than-expected outlook for the crucial holiday quarter may have hurt Amazon’s standing with investors and undermined its share price.
The company said net sales for the key year-end shopping season are expected to be between US$112 billion and US$121 billion, growing 28% to 38%. – AFP, October 30, 2020
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