Amazon continues to prove to Wall Street that it can run as a profitable business.
The e-commerce giant reported Thursday that it earned $5.07 a share during the second quarter, more than double the $2.50 investors were expecting.
Although it missed on revenue — bringing in $52.9 billion, under the $53.4 billion analysts were anticipating — the earnings gain, up from 40 cents per share a year earlier, was enough to send the stock up slightly during after-hours trading.
CEO Jeff Bezos highlighted Amazon’s Alexa technology, noting in a statement that “there are now tens of thousands of developers across more than 150 countries building new devices using the Alexa Voice service.”
The company spent so many years operating at a loss that Wall Street largely accepted that Amazon wouldn’t turn a profit as it invested in becoming the “everything store.” But more recently, the company has shown to investors that it can consistently turn a profit. It topped quarterly profit of $1 billion earlier this year, now net income has increased to $2.5 billion.
Highlights for the Seattle-based company during the quarter include the release of the Fire TV smart television and the announcement about the Fire TV Cube streaming media device. On the content front, Amazon renewed its partnership with the NFL for Thursday Night Football streaming rights and debuted the second season of Billy Bob Thornton starrer Goliath.
Although Prime Day results won’t affect Amazon earnings until third-quarter numbers are announced this fall, Amazon noted that it was a big day for the company, despite early glitches. More people signed up for Prime on Prime Day than any other day in Amazon history, and members purchased more than 100 million products, according to the company.
Amazon shares closed the day down nearly 3 percent, or $55.61, to $1,808. They were trading up about 3 percent after hours.
