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Shares of Amazon jump on 1Q earnings beat

The USA Company reported a profit of US$513 million for the quarter, Vs a year-ago loss in the same quarter of $57 million.

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Amazon showed off its dominance in the public cloud market on Thursday as the capstone to a better than expected quarterly earnings report.

The report may reassure investors who have been watching for signs that Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos is balancing his ambitious spending with their desire for consistent profits.

The AWS unit, which rents computing power to a variety of start-ups, government agencies and other corporations, has become a major driver of sales growth and profits for Amazon. As a result, shares spiked more than 10 per cent in after-hours trading.

Amazon therefore completely toppled analysts’ expectations. The stock had fallen less than 1 percent to $602 at the close in NY.

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For the current quarter, Amazon expects sales between $28 billion and $30.5 billion, suggesting growth ranging from 21% to 32% from a year ago. By constantly upgrading its fast delivery options, the retailer aims to make buying something on its website comparable to the instant gratification of a quick trip to the store. Amazon has also said it plans to offer its video streaming service for a monthly fee of $8.99. Amazon’s total operating income, which is a slightly different measure from net income or profits, was $1.1 billion. Amazon purchased a number of titles at the Sundance Film Festival, including Wiener Dog, a comedy by Welcome to the Dollhouse filmmaker Todd Solondz, and Author: The JT LeRoy Story, a documentary about a fictitious literary persona created by novelist Laura Albert. Wall Street analysts had expected Amazon to post earnings of 58 cents per share on $27.98 billion in revenue, according to a Thomson Reuters consensus estimate. Shipping costs rose a steep 42% to $3.28 billion in the quarter, giving more reason for Amazon to find ways to contain costs by land, sea and air.

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