Amazon: Quarterly profit explodes by 3,233%
You don’t need me to introduce Amazon to you anymore. The US company is as successful as it is controversial. Despite high inflation and economic concerns, the world’s largest online retailer Amazon was able to end the past fiscal year with a significant increase in sales and a strong fourth quarter. Is it still worth investing in? Let’s take a look at the numbers.
Why did the quarterly profit shoot up? For the fourth quarter, Amazon reported a profit of $1.00 per share, compared to $0.03 in the previous year. Analysts had expected $0.80. Net sales were $169.96 billion, up from $149.20 billion in the previous year. Analysts had predicted $166.26 billion. The 3,233% increase in profit is spectacular, but it was also a sharp decline in profits in the fourth quarter of the previous year. Still, Amazon’s profit is a good 25% above analysts‘ expectations.
Delivering to Prime members as quickly as possible „This (fourth quarter) was a record-breaking holiday shopping season and concluded a robust year 2023 for Amazon,“ said CEO Andy Jassy. „The regionalization of our US fulfillment network has allowed us to deliver to our Prime members faster than ever before while reducing our delivery costs.“
Amazon with a confident forecast The company expects sales between $138 and $143.5 billion for the first quarter, which would represent annual growth of 8 to 13%. Analysts are expecting $142.17 billion.
Analysts with overwhelmingly positive sentiment
Conclusion: Take a look at the chart. Amazon has had a good start to the new year. It’s not far from its all-time high of around $186. Analysts also have a overwhelmingly positive view. 57 out of 59 analysts recommend buying, and 2 recommend holding. Not a single analyst wants to sell. Such a high level of agreement is rare. The average analyst target price is $205, with the highest at $230. So there is still a lot of potential for you. However, with a P/E ratio of over 41, the stock is no longer a bargain.