Amazon shares plunged about 7% in after-hours trading after its third-quarter earnings report on Oct. 29, local time, revealed massive cash outflows despite rapid growth at Amazon Web Services (AWS). The stock had earlier closed the regular session down 4.3% at $243.79.
For the July-September quarter, Amazon reported total revenue of $201.9 billion, net income of $20.7 billion and operating income of $28.1 billion. AWS generated revenue of $46 billion and operating income of $17.8 billion, with revenue rising 39.3% from a year earlier. That exceeded the consensus estimate compiled by LSEG, which projected growth of 38.2% to $45.61 billion. AWS revenue had also increased 37% in the second quarter.
AWS recorded its fastest revenue growth in nearly five years. The cloud business posted year-on-year growth of 40% in the fourth quarter of 2021, and its 39.3% expansion in the latest quarter marked the highest growth rate in 18 quarters.
AWS has a lower growth rate…