Amazon more than doubles profit in first quarter
Online retailer beats estimates, but indicates that bigger spending is in store that might limit its windfall
Bengaluru — Amazon.com on Thursday trounced first-quarter profit estimates as demand for its cloud and ad services soared, but the company indicated that bigger spending was in store that might limit its windfall. Shares were up 1% in after-hours trade. Amazon's first-quarter net income more than doubled to $3.56bn, or $7.09 per share, while analysts were only expecting $4.72, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. By contrast, its forecast fell flat. It said second-quarter operating income would be as much as $3.6bn, while analysts had expected $4.2bn, according to FactSet. CFO Brian Olsavsky said Amazon was still reaping rewards from its hiring and investments in warehouses and other infrastructure in prior years. "We're banking the efficiencies of prior investments, continued into Q1," he said on a call with reporters. "There'll be times when we have to invest ahead to build out warehouse capacity, but right now we are on a nice path where we are getting the most out of the ca...
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