Amazon credits AI initiatives for strong Q3 results
SEATTLE — Amazon saw net sales jump by 13% to $180.2 billion in the third quarter, with its AWS segment contributing $33 billion, a 20% year-over-year gain.
The North America segment sales rose 11% year-over-year to $160.3 billion, while international also registered double-digit grow, up 14% to $40.9 billion.
“We continue to see strong momentum and growth across Amazon as AI drives meaningful improvements in every corner of our business,” said Andy Jassy, president and CEO. “We continue to see strong demand in AI and core infrastructure, and we’ve been focused on accelerating capacity,” he said. The AWS growth rate is at a pace not seen since 2022, Jassy noted.
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“In Stores, we continue to realize the benefits of innovating in our fulfillment network, and we’re on track to deliver to Prime members at the fastest speeds ever again this year, expand same-day delivery of perishable groceries to over 2,300 communities by end of year and double the number of rural communities with access to Amazon’s same-day and next-day delivery,” said Jassy.
Operating income for the quarter was $17.4 billion, the same as Q3 2024. Two special charges — $2.5 billion related to a legal settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and $1.8 billion in estimated severance costs related to planned role eliminations — impacted the final number. Without those charges, operating income would have been $21.7 billion.
Amazon’s net income rose to $21.2 billion in Q3 or $1.95 per diluted share vs. $15.3 billion or $1.43 per diluted share in the same quarter of 2024. Operating cash flow increased 16% to $130.7 billion for the trailing 12 months, while free cash flow decreased to $14.8 billion.
Use of Amazon’s Rufus AI-powered assistant has risen to 250 million customers, with 60% of shoppers using Rufus more likely to complete a purchase. The company also recently launched its Help Me Decide AI feature that aids product selection by using browsing activity, searches, shopping history and preferences.
For the fourth quarter, Amazon expects net sales to be between $206 billion and $213 billion, a growth rate of 10% to 13% over Q4 2024. Operating income is expected to be in the $21 billion to $26 billion range, according to fourth quarter guidance.
