Amazon Blows Past Wall Street Views For Q2

Amazon‘s shares were surging in after-hours action on Thursday (July 28) after the company reported second quarter results that were higher than Wall Street expectations. It was the fifth straight quarter in which Amazon posted a profit.

For the second quarter, Amazon reported earnings per share of $1.78, blowing past Wall Street expectations of $1.11 a share. Revenue for the quarter was $30.4 billion, also higher than the $29.55 billion Wall Street was looking for.

For the quarter, Amazon said operating cash flow rose 42 percent to $12.7 billion, while free cash flow rose to $7.3 billion for the trailing 12 months. That compares with $4.4 billion in the same period a year ago. Net sales increased 31 percent to $30.4 billion.

“It’s been a busy few months for Amazon around the world and particularly in India, where we launched a new AWS region, introduced Prime with unlimited free shipping and announced that Prime Video is coming soon, offering Prime members in India exclusive access to Amazon original series and movies, including original content featuring top Indian creators and talent,” said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, in a press release announcing the results. “The team in India is inventing at a torrid pace, and we’re very grateful to our Indian customers for their welcoming response.”

Some of the highlights for the quarter included Amazon’s second annual Prime Day, which the company said was the biggest day for the eRetailer. Compared to last year’s Prime Day, orders grew by more than 60 percent from third-party sellers. During the quarter, Amazon also launched Prime in India and disclosed that Fire TV was the number one best-selling streaming media player in the U.S. during the second quarter.