Amazon shares fall as group predicts sales slowdown

Amazon has seen its shares plummet by as much as 20% after it warned of a slowdown in sales for the upcoming quarter. 

It comes as the group reported that sales hit $127.1bn (£110bn) in the quarter ended 30 September, 2022, a rise of 15% against the prior year yet still below analysts’ expectations.

Operating income over the period fell to $2.5bn (£2.2bn), down from $4.9bn (£4.3bn) in the third quarter of 2021.

Looking at the upcoming quarter, sales are expected to be between $140bn (£122bn) and $148bn (£129bn). While this marks a growth of between 2% and 8% compared with the fourth quarter of 2021, analysts were expecting sales to hit $155.15bn (£135bn) over the golden quarter, according to The Guardian. 

Meanwhile, operating income is expected to be between $0 and $4bn (£3.5bn), compared with the $3.5bn (£3bn) reported in the fourth quarter of 2021. 

Amazon noted that its forward-looking statements are “inherently difficult to predict”, however. 

It cited uncertainties over the impacts of the pandemic, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, changes in global economic and geopolitical conditions and customer demand and spending, inflation, interest rates, labour market and global supply chain constraints, world events, and the rate of growth of the Internet as reasons for this. 

Andy Jassy, Amazon CEO, said: “In the past four months, employees across our consumer businesses have worked relentlessly to put together compelling Prime Member Deal Events with our eighth annual Prime Day and the brand new Prime Early Access Sale in early October. The customer response to both events was quite positive, and it’s clear that particularly during these uncertain economic times, customers appreciate Amazon’s continued focus on value and convenience.

“We’re also encouraged by the steady progress we’re making on lowering costs in our stores fulfilment network, and have a set of initiatives that we’re methodically working through that we believe will yield a stronger cost structure for the business moving forward.” 

He added: “There is obviously a lot happening in the macroeconomic environment, and we’ll balance our investments to be more streamlined without compromising our key long-term, strategic bets. What won’t change is our maniacal focus on the customer experience, and we feel confident that we’re ready to deliver a great experience for customers this holiday shopping season.”