In the fourth quarter, American online retailer Amazon has managed a record profit, but that was a lot lower than originally forecast. Turnover also grew a lot, but also failed to live up to expectations.
Rising costs
In 2015’s fourth quarter, Amazon managed a 35.7 billion dollar turnover, up 22 % compared to last year, but well below analysts’ expectations who had forecast a 38.9 billion euro (35.7 billion euro) turnover. It is the sixth year in a row Amazon failed to live up to the fourth quarter forecast. It also happens to be Amazon’s most important period, including the holiday sales turnover.
Net profit also grew a lot, doubling last year’s net profit (214 million dollar – 196 million euro) to 482 million dollar (442 million euro), a new record. Nevertheless, the stock market reacted negatively, as Amazon’s net profit (similar to its turnover) was well below previous forecasts. Amazon points towards rising costs and disappointing B2B cloud service growth for the lower net profit.
For its current quarter, Amazon expects a 26.5 – 29 billion dollar (24.3 – 26.6 billion euro) turnover, while analysts forecast a 27.6 billion dollar (25.3 billion euro) turnover.
