Amazon Forecast Shows Internet Giant Can Grow Profitably
- Expanding Prime subscriber ranks, cloud business drive results
- Company hikes Prime price; gets into higher-margin businesses
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Amazon.com Inc. reminded investors on Thursday that scraping by selling things online was just the beginning. The world’s biggest internet retailer reported larger profits in the first quarter and forecast more of the same, delivered by its cloud-computing, subscription and advertising businesses.
The results highlight Amazon’s evolution from a low-margin retailer into an expansive provider of profitable services over the internet. The Seattle-based company projected operating income in the current quarter of $1.1 billion to $1.9 billion on revenue of $51 billion to $54 billion. Analysts estimated operating income of $1.13 billion of operating income and sales of $52.3 billion.