Amazon shares slipped after the technology giant reported weaker-than-expected sales guidance that overshadowed a Q4 revenue and EPS beat.
Amazon’s Q4 revenue came in at $187.8bn vs $187.3bn expected and Q4 EPS rose to $1.86 vs $1.49 expected. A phenomenal quarter for the company that also enjoyed cloud revenue in line with estimates.
However, as is always the way with company earnings, investors were more concerned with what comes next. And this wasn’t as encouraging.
Amazon shares fell 4% in the US premarket after the group said it expected Q1 2025 sales to be $151bn – short of estimates between $155bn-$158bn.
“Amazon delivered a knockout quarter, but a touch of softness in first quarter guidance has sent shares into a bit of a post-earnings wobble,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity researcher, Hargreaves Lansdown.
“Amazon hasn’t missed earnings expectations since all the way back in 2022 and today was no different with a big beat on the bottom line. Some of the softness in first-quarter guidance looks to be a result of the stronger US dollar and the lapping of a leap year, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see shares rebound once markets digest the moving parts.”