Services

Amazon Earnings: What to Expect From This E-Commerce Giant

Chris Lange

Published: January 31, 2019 9:59 am

Last Updated: January 31, 2020 1:11 am

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter financial results after the markets close on Thursday. Although 12 components of the Dow Jones industrial average are reporting this week, Amazon is easily one of the most anticipated reports, next to Apple and Facebook.

Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates of $5.67 in earnings per share (EPS) and $71.87 billion in revenue for Amazon. The fourth quarter of 2018 reportedly had $2.16 in EPS and $60.45 billion in revenue.

This e-commerce giant reached a huge milestone during this quarter. Earlier this month, Amazon’s Prime membership count reached an estimated 101 million, according to data released by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP). About 62% of Amazon customers are now Prime members.

Also according to CIRP, year-over-year growth in U.S. Prime membership is expected to come in at 10%, below the 12% annual growth posted in 2017 and far below the 35% growth registered in 2016 and around 50% growth in each of the two prior years. But CIRP co-founder Josh Lowitz noted:

Membership has slowed, but continued steadily in the holiday quarter. US membership grew 10% in the past year, slower than before, but still significant on a huge base and after years of rapid growth. Membership doubled in three years and almost quadrupled in five years, from 26 million members in December 2013.

In a recent report from Credit Suisse, Amazon was maintained as Outperform, but the firm gave what looked and felt like a serious haircut to the upside price targets. What should stand out was that Credit Suisse was among the more bullish of analysts with its price target and is still quite positive on the top e-tailer in the United States.

Overall, most analysts have been very favorable toward Amazon over the past month, despite the huge correction in December.

Excluding Thursday’s move, Amazon had outperformed the broad markets, with its stock up about 11% year to date. In the past 52 weeks, the stock was up closer to 18%.

Shares of Amazon were last seen up about 1% at $1,687.09, with a 52-week range of $1,265.93 to $2,050.50. The stock has a consensus price target of $2138.39.