Amazon reported $13.5 billion in profits in the second quarter of this year, driven largely by continuing growth in its cloud computing division.
Amazon Web Services — which offers cloud services and powers Amazon’s artificial intelligence offerings — reported a 19% increase in sales, up to $26.3 billion.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told analysts last quarter that AWS customers were starting to move away from cost-savings efforts and reinvesting in the cloud, AI and other technology that AWS offers. That trend continued in the second quarter, which runs from April through June.
“We’re continuing to make progress on a number of dimensions, but perhaps none more so than the continued reacceleration in AWS growth,” Jassy said in a prepared statement Thursday.
Net sales in the second quarter increased 10% to $148 billion, compared to $134 billion in the same time period last year.
Sales from Amazon’s online store increased 5% to $55 billion, compared to nearly $53 billion in the same time period last year. Amazon’s advertising arm posted a 20% increase in sales to $12.7 billion, up from $10.6 billion a year earlier.
Operating income increased to $14.7 billion, compared to $7.7 billion in the second quarter of 2023.
The $13.5 billion profit this quarter, or $1.26 cents earnings per diluted share, included a $0.4 billion pretax valuation gain from Amazon’s investment in electric vehicle startup Rivian Automotive.
Amazon’s annual Prime Day sale, a two-day discount event that took place July 16-17 this year, is not included in the second quarter results. The record sales day clocked in at $14.2 billion, up 11% from last year’s Prime Day, according to Adobe Analytics, which provides reporting and analysis on consumer spending. Those results will appear in Amazon’s third quarter financials.
On Wednesday, Amazon estimated net sales in the third quarter would be between $154 billion and $158 billion, an increase of between 8% and 11% compared to the third quarter of 2023. It expected operating income between $11.5 billion and $15 billion, compared to $11.2 billion a year earlier.
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