Amazon surprised investors (again) on Thursday by posting its second consecutive quarterly profit and also topping revenue estimates in the third quarter.
Shares of Amazon shot up 11% in after-hours trading.
During the quarter, net income surged to $79 million, or 17 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $437 million, or 95 cents per share, a year ago. This beats analyst estimates of a 13 cent loss per share.
Amazon, which is known for playing the long game and sacrificing profits along the way, also delighted investors by posting a rare profit last quarter.
Total revenue increased 23% to $25.4 billion, beating analyst estimates of $24.9 billion. Revenue would have risen 30% if not for currency headwinds.
Helping to drive the rise in revenue was continued strength in its cloud-hosting division, Amazon Web Services. Revenue from the business rose to $2.08 billion, up 78% from a year ago and 14% from last quarter. AWS operating income more than quadrupled.
Looking forward to the fourth quarter, the online retailing juggernaut is forecasting blockbuster performance. It expects revenue between $33.5 billion and $36.75 billion and operating income between $80 million and $1.28 billion.
Behind this forecast are expectations for ”record holiday season.” Amazon has said it expects to hire 100,000 people in North America for seasonal help and that most of the orders shipped should be through an Amazon Prime account.
You can expect Amazon to push its new line of tablets, including the $49 Fire tablet, during gift-giving season. Amazon has used gadgets like these to promote its Prime membership, and earlier this month, even said it will stop selling competing video-streaming devices from Apple and Google.
On the earnings call with analysts and investors, the question arose about whether the company is at a point now where it can deliver consistent profits. The short answer: No promises. “Innovation and investment will continue and could be lumpy over time,” said chief financial officer Brian Olsavsky. “But we’re also working on cost reduction and efficiency.”
Shares of Amazon jumped 11% to $627.39 in after-hours trading Thursday and are up 80% this year. Amazon has trounced the broader market and is one of the year’s best-performing stocks.
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