Amazon.com Inc. released its financial results for the first quarter ending March 31.
Results showed an increase in net sales, sales for the North America sector, sales in the international segment and sales for the AWS segment, according to an April 27 news release.
“There’s a lot to like about how our teams are delivering for customers, particularly amidst an uncertain economy,” Amazon President and CEO Andy Jassy said in the release. “Our stores business is continuing to improve the cost to serve in our fulfillment network while increasing the speed with which we get products into the hands of customers (we expect to have our fastest Prime delivery speeds ever in 2023)."
Comparing the first quarter of 2022 to the first quarter of 2019, net sales climbed 9% to $127.4 billion, the release reported. Net sales grew 11% in comparison to the first quarter of 2022, excluding the $2.4 billion negative impact from year-over-year changes in foreign currency rates throughout the quarter.
Sales for the North America sector rose 11% year over year to $76.9 billion, according to the release. Sales in the international segment climbed by 1% from year to year to $29.1 billion, or by 9% if changes in foreign currency rates were excluded. Sales for the AWS segment rose 16% year over year to $21.4 billion.
Comparing the first quarter of 2019 to the first quarter of 2022, operating income increased to $4.8 billion from $3.7 billion, the release said.
Operating income for the first quarter of 2023 includes roughly $0.5 billion in charges for anticipated severance costs, and operating income for the North America sector was $0.9 billion, up from an operating loss of $1.6 billion in the first quarter of 2022, the release reported. Operating loss for the international division was $1.2 billion, down from $1.3 billion in the first quarter of 2022, and operating income for the AWS division was $5.1 billion, down from $6.5 billion in the first quarter of 2022.
"Our advertising business continues to deliver robust growth, largely due to our ongoing machine learning investments that help customers see relevant information when they engage with us, which in turn delivers unusually strong results for brands," Jassey added, according to the release.
Despite companies spending more cautiously in the current macro environment, Jassy remains optimistic about Amazon's AWS business, citing the company's cost-effective machine learning chips, managed large language models and AI code companion CodeWhisperer as drivers of long-term customer relationships and growth, the release reported.
