Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) reported strong third-quarter results late Thursday, with diluted earnings per share of 94 cents easily beating consensus estimates of 55 cents and revenue up 13% to $143.1 billion.
Operating income more than quadrupled to $11.2 billion, while net income more than tripled to $9.9 billion.
The net income figure included a $1.2 billion pretax gain from Amazon’s investment in electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian Automotive Inc.
Seattle-based Amazon touted the emerging benefits of migrating from a national hub-and-spoke delivery network to a fulfillment and delivery model based on eight regions. Finishing its second quarter in existence, the regionalization model has spawned direct links between fulfillment and delivery nodes, Amazon said. It has reduced the number of line-haul lanes and built density in existing ones, the company added. It also has lowered the cost to serve, while compressing the order-to-delivery cycle to same-day or next-day windows.
In comments to analysts, CEO Andy Jassy said the shift to regionalization was “such a significant change in the network.” Its performance has exceeded even the company’s optimistic expectations, he said.