Amazon first-quarter sales increased 9% to $155.7 billion, compared with the average estimate of $155.2 billion. Operating income was $18.4 billion. Analysts projected $17.5 billion. (Hollie Adams/Bloomberg News)
Amazon.com Inc. gave a weaker-than-expected forecast for operating profit in the current quarter, pointing toward tariffs and trade policies that may cause consumers to pull back on spending.
The world’s largest online retailer projected operating profit of $13 billion to $17.5 billion, compared with an average estimate of $17.8 billion. Sales will be $159 billion to $164 billion in the period ending in June, the company said May 1 in a statement. Analysts, on average, expected $161.4 billion.
Amazon shares have fallen about 13% this year as Wall Street weighs the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on a retail operation that sources many of its goods from China. Investors are generally bullish on the company’s efforts to become a major force in artificial intelligence, but there are concerns that Amazon’s prodigious spending on data centers may not translate into meaningful sales growth any time soon.
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Amazon Web Services, the largest seller of rented computing power, reported first-quarter sales gained 17% to $29.3 billion, in line with analysts’ estimates. It was the unit’s slowest growth in a year.
The company’s reputation for competitive prices and a broad base of suppliers could insulate it if shoppers become more deal-focused. But a pullback by the independent Chinese sellers who help stock Amazon’s warehouses could hit the logistics and high-margin advertising businesses.
The White House lambasted the Seattle-based company earlier this week following a news report that Amazon was considering displaying the cost of tariffs to shoppers. The company said it was considering — and has no plans to implement — disclosing the cost of imports for Haul, its Temu-like storefront that features cheap goods shipped directly from Chinese sellers.
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Amazon’s results follow a blowout quarter from rival Microsoft Corp., which on April 30 reported stronger-than-expected sales and profit, suggesting customer demand for cloud services has held steady despite a wave of tariffs and economic turbulence.
The shares declined about 2% in extended trading after closing at $190.20 in New York.
First-quarter sales increased 9% to $155.7 billion, compared with the average estimate of $155.2 billion. Operating income was $18.4 billion. Analysts projected $17.5 billion.
Amazon.com Inc. ranks No. 1 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America, No. 12 on the TT Top 100 list of the largest private carriers and No. 1 on the Top 50 global freight list.
