Amazon stock plunged to a two-year low as shares slid as much as 12% on Friday morning after the company reported its first-quarter results yesterday. The company reported a loss of $3.84 billion, or $7.56 a share, for the first quarter. In the first quarter of last year, Amazon reported a profit of $8.1 billion, or $15.79 a share.
The company said Thursday it projects revenue between $116 billion to $121 billion in the second quarter, which would miss analysts’ average estimate of $125.5 billion, as reported by CNBC. Amazon also reported a $7.6 billion loss on its investment in electric vehicle maker Rivian.
In a statement about the quarterly results, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the company is focused on improving productivity and cost efficiencies, but that this will take time as Amazon continues to address inflationary and supply chain pressures.
“The pandemic and subsequent war in Ukraine have brought unusual growth and challenges,” said Jassy. “Today, as we’re no longer chasing physical or staffing capacity, our teams are squarely focused on improving productivity and cost efficiencies throughout our fulfillment network. We know how to do this and have done it before. This may take some time, particularly as we work through ongoing inflationary and supply chain pressures, but we see encouraging progress on a number of customer experience dimensions, including delivery speed performance as we’re now approaching levels not seen since the months immediately preceding the pandemic in early 2020.”
Subscription services, which include Amazon Prime memberships, took in $8.4 billion for the quarter. Last quarter, the company increased the price of Prime, as the monthly fee went up from $12.99 to $14.99 and the annual membership rose from $119 to $139, marking a 17% increase. The e-commerce giant had said the reason for the increase was due to the continued expansion of Prime member benefits and the rise in wages and transportation costs.
Amazon’s results come at a time when the company is seeing a growing push toward unionization from its workforce. Earlier this month, workers at Amazon’s JFK8 fulfillment center voted to unionize, marking a historic day in a hard-fought battle. Following the news, Amazon had said it was “disappointed” and “evaluating [its] options.” Workers at Staten Island’s LDJ5 sort center are currently set to hold their own vote.
As part of its quarterly earnings report, Amazon also announced that Prime Day will take place in July this year in more than 20 countries. The company’s annual deal event has shifted around over the past few years, as it was moved to October for 2020 and then moved back up to June in 2021.
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