online retailer
Amazon posts strong profit increase – share takes off
Amazon’s sales increased 9 percent to $137.4 billion in the final quarter. Photo: Patrick Pleul/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The online giant almost doubled its earnings last quarter. The main reason for this was the participation in an electric car manufacturer.
The world’s largest online retailer Amazon recorded a jump in profits at the end of the year thanks to high special proceeds.
In the final quarter, the surplus almost doubled year-on-year to $14.3 billion, as Amazon announced after the US stock market closed. Sales increased 9 percent to $137.4 billion.
The main reason for the strong increase in profits was Amazon’s stake in the electric car manufacturer Rivian, from which the group benefited greatly when it went public in November. Amazon’s operating income fell by almost half to $3.5 billion. However, the stock shot up more than 15 percent in after-hours trading.
Three months ago, Amazon had already warned investors of additional billions in expenditure due to higher wages, global problems in the supply chain and increased freight costs and had adjusted to relatively meager numbers. For the current quarter, the company expects sales growth of between three and eight percent.
The group also announced that it would increase the prices for its “Prime” service in the United States for the first time since 2018, which offers access to free shipping and streaming services, among other things. The service will be significantly more expensive: from February 18, new US customers will pay $14.99 instead of $12.99 per month and $139 instead of $119 per year.