Amazon.com Inc. late Thursday reported third-quarter earnings per share of $6.12 per diluted share, well below analyst estimates that ranged from $8.92 to $9.10 per diluted share and about half of third-quarter 2020’s EPS results.
Operating income fell to $4.9 billion from $6.2 billion, the Seattle-based e-tailer said. Revenue rose 15% to $110.8 billion. Shipping costs in the quarter rose 20% year-on-year to $18.1 billion, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) said.
Net income fell to $3.2 billion in the quarter from $6.3 billion in the third quarter of 2020, a period when fulfillment and delivery activity was off the charts as the COVID-19 pandemic raged across America.
In after-hours trading Thursday, Amazon shares were down $177.58 a share, a drop of more than 5%. Shares closed higher in regular trading by 1.6%, closing at $3,446.57 a share.
CEO Andy Jassy, presiding over his first complete reporting quarter since succeeding Jeff Bezos on July 5, said the results underscore Amazon’s willingness to invest heavily for the long term even if causes short-term bottom-line pain. Jassy noted, for example, that Amazon has nearly doubled the size of its fulfillment network since the pandemic began in March 2020.
The company also expects to incur several billion dollars in additional expenses as it works through global supply chain bottlenecks, labor shortages, the impact of higher wages on its bottom line, and higher freight and shipping costs, Jassy said.