Amazon reported a net profit of $3.2 billion in the first quarter, thanks in part to a fast-growing advertising business and strong performance from Amazon Web Services (AWS).
The strong quarter also came amid substantial layoffs at the tech giant, which has said it will lay off about 27,000 employees by the end of the year. On Thursday, Amazon entertainment divisions were impacted, with about 100 jobs cut.
Amazon revenue in the quarter was $127.4 billion, well above Wall street’s $124.5 billion consensus. The company’s share price rose after hours.
“There’s a lot to like about how our teams are delivering for customers, particularly amidst an uncertain economy,” said Andy Jassy, Amazon’s CEO, in a statement. “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.”
Amazon’s ads business delivered $9.5 billion in revenue, up 21 percent from a year ago.
On the entertainment front, Amazon’s usual lengthy earnings release also called out Creed III and Daisy Jones & The Six as contributing to its success in the quarter. Theater owners will surely take note of the fact that Amazon touted Creed‘s strong box office numbers.
