Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) reported quarterly results on Thursday after the market closed, delivering tepid results.
The headline news was the company’s top line. Revenue for the all-important holiday quarter came in at $43.7 billion, nearly $1 billion below analyst expectations. Revenue was still up 22% versus the same period last year, however.
Operating income was $1.3 billion, a 13% increase, and net income for the quarter nearly doubled, rising from $482 million to $749 million.
Guidance also came in a little light. The company estimated it would do between $33.25 billion and $35.75 billion in the first quarter, an increase of between 14% and 23%. Analysts expected the top line to be $35.95 billion.
Amazon continued its habit of keeping investors in the dark about potential profits, reporting Q1 operating earnings would be between $250 and $900 million. This goes to show just how little founder and CEO Jeff Bezos and his management team care about short-term profits.
Bezos was quick to point out Amazon Prime’s success, saying the company has successfully expanded the number of items that qualify for free shipping under Prime, as well as offering members perks such as Prime Reading, Audible Channels for Prime, and other freebies. There are more than 66 million active Prime members.
Despite results being largely pretty good, investors focused on Amazon’s top line in trading on Friday, sending shares down $27.11 or 3.2% to $812.84. Amazon has still been a strong performer in the last year, with shares up 53%.
