Amazon has delivered fiscal third quarter profits and net sales that came below Wall Street analysts’ expectations but posted strong growth in its prominent cloud computing unit.
The Seattle-based company also offered a cautious outlook for the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter period.
Amazon said sales in its cloud computing unit called AWS rose 39.3 per cent during the latest quarter ended September 30 – the fastest growth rate in nearly five years.
Shares were down more than six per cent in after-market trading when the results were released as investors focused on the core business.
Amazon reported net income of $US20.69 billion ($A29.42 billion), or $US1.89 per share, in the three-month period. That compares with $US21.19 billion, or $US1.95 per share, in the year ago period.
Sales rose to $US201.94 billion, compared with the same year-ago period’s $US180.17 billion.
Analysts were expecting $US1.97 per share on sales of $US202.2 billion, according to FactSet.
For the fourth quarter, Amazon said it expects net sales to be between $US240 billion and $US247 billion, which translates to a 12 per cent to 16 per cent increase compared with the year-ago period. Analysts were expecting $US244.16 billion.
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