What happened
Shares of Amazon.com (AMZN 0.53%) fell on Friday following the release of the e-commerce giant's second-quarter results. As of 3:15 p.m. EDT, Amazon's stock price was down more than 7%.
So what
Amazon's net sales jumped 27% year over year to a staggering $113.1 billion, fueled by strong gains in its cloud computing and advertising businesses. Amazon Web Services (AWS) delivered revenue growth of 37%, up from 32% in the first quarter. Amazon's "other" segment, which is mostly comprised of advertising-related sales, saw even more impressive gains, with revenue rising a blistering 87%.
The strong performances of these high-margin businesses helped Amazon's net income soar 50% to $7.8 billion, or $15.12 per share. That was well above Wall Street's consensus estimate for earnings per share of $12.30.
Amazon.com's shares sank on Friday. Image source: Getty Images.
Still, investors appeared to focus on Amazon's subdued guidance. Management sees revenue growth decelerating to between 10% and 16% in the third quarter as Amazon laps the torrid gains it experienced during the early stages of the coronavirus crisis.
Now what
Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky said during a conference call with analysts that Amazon's e-commerce growth is slowing as the economy reopens. "I think the impact of people getting vaccinated and getting out in the world, not only shopping offline, but also living life and getting out, it takes away from shopping time," Olsavsky said.
Amazon's planned investments in its fulfillment network could also weigh on its profits in the second half of the year. Investors, however, should note that it's these types of investments that have helped the company achieve its dominant competitive position in the online retail and cloud infrastructure markets. Moreover, Amazon's current spending is likely to further strengthen its advantages over its rivals, thereby boosting its long-term profit potential.
As a result, patient investors may wish to view today's sell-off as an opportunity to buy shares in this e-commerce and cloud titan at a sizable discount.
