得益于持久的疫情紅利,亞馬遜第二季度的總銷售收入同比猛增40%,達到了889億美元。
亞馬遜輕松打破了分析師的預期,在截至6月30日的第二季度財報中,該公司的營收達到了812.4億美元,利潤也同比增長了一倍,為52億美元。這個結果相當引人注目,鑒于該公司曾經在4月表示,由于疫情期間的運營成本高昂,預計第二季度將虧損15億美元。
亞馬遜的首席財務官布萊恩·奧爾薩夫斯基在財報電話會議上告訴分析師,公司在疫情方面的支出超過了40億美元。這些支出包括:在公司眾多倉庫和辦公場所施行額外的防護、為工作人員購買個人防護用品,以及獎勵給物流人員和送貨員的、總計5億美元的“感謝金”。
但是,亞馬遜平臺的消費者數量的大幅增加,以及消費者購物量的增加,彌補了這些支出。奧爾薩夫斯基表示,雖然沒有準確數據,但在第二季度,亞馬遜在線零售銷售額同比增長了兩倍,平臺的Prime會員“購物頻率更高”、“購物量也變大了”。
奧爾薩夫斯基沒有提及亞馬遜的首席執行官杰夫·貝佐斯于7月29日的美國國會反壟斷聽證會上受到的盤問。在聽證會上,議員們針對亞馬遜、蘋果、谷歌和Facebook等科技巨頭的壟斷市場行為展開了提問。參與財報電話會議的分析師,也沒有提及反壟斷聽證會可能對亞馬遜造成的影響,他們的問題主要集中在,亞馬遜的第二季度表現,以及公司之后將如何使用這意料之外的巨額利潤。
奧爾薩夫斯基表示,諸如削減營銷支出、減少運輸及相關支出等舉措,為亞馬遜本季度的利潤增長做出了貢獻。當被問及,亞馬遜是否會把這筆額外的資金用于新的投資項目時,奧爾薩夫斯基說,公司已經“有了很多投資”,而且“一直在尋找新的投資項目”。他說,亞馬遜的大部分支出,都將用于建設必要的基礎設施,以滿足客戶持續的巨大需求。
該公司削減支出的一個領域是亞馬遜工作室的電視和電影部門。奧爾薩夫斯基的理由是,就像許多娛樂行業一樣,由于疫情,亞馬遜“推后了大部分劇片的錄制”。
“這樣是為了保護演員和攝制組。”奧爾薩夫斯基說。
但在第二季度,亞馬遜并非事事順利。
例如,該公司的AWS(亞馬遜網絡服務)云計算部門的銷售額為108億美元,同比僅增長29%。這雖然令人印象深刻,但卻意味著AWS的增長速度有所下降。上個季度,AWS的收入同比增長33%,達到了102億美元。據Gartner在7月的估算,企業在IT服務方面的支出下降,似乎影響到了亞馬遜的云計算業務,并對亞馬遜的競爭對手微軟的Azure云計算業務造成了相同影響,后者的收入增長速度也比以前更慢。
奧爾薩夫斯基表示,酒店和旅游業等行業的公司,在疫情期間受到的打擊尤其嚴重。它們“現在正非常努力地削減開支”,這意味著它們在亞馬遜云計算服務上的支出將會減少。他說,為了維持“長期健康的關系”,亞馬遜將繼續“幫助我們的客戶省錢”。換句話說,亞馬遜現在不會對陷入困境的客戶過分苛責,因為當經濟復蘇后,這些公司可能會愿意購買云服務產品。
盡管如此,奧爾薩夫斯基說,雖然大多數公司都受到了疫情的沖擊,但“也有贏家出現”。他表示,視頻會議,游戲和娛樂等行業“都出現了用戶量的增長”,這意味著這些領域的消費者需求更大,因此相關公司將在云服務上投入更多的資金。
確實,在疫情期間,使用AWS的視頻會議公司Zoom、流媒體公司Netflix和游戲公司藝電均擁有穩定的季度收益,且用戶數量出現了大幅增長。而亞馬遜,也是疫情期間仍蓬勃發展的公司名單中的一員。(財富中文網)
譯者:Shog
得益于持久的疫情紅利,亞馬遜第二季度的總銷售收入同比猛增40%,達到了889億美元。
亞馬遜輕松打破了分析師的預期,在截至6月30日的第二季度財報中,該公司的營收達到了812.4億美元,利潤也同比增長了一倍,為52億美元。這個結果相當引人注目,鑒于該公司曾經在4月表示,由于疫情期間的運營成本高昂,預計第二季度將虧損15億美元。
亞馬遜的首席財務官布萊恩·奧爾薩夫斯基在財報電話會議上告訴分析師,公司在疫情方面的支出超過了40億美元。這些支出包括:在公司眾多倉庫和辦公場所施行額外的防護、為工作人員購買個人防護用品,以及獎勵給物流人員和送貨員的、總計5億美元的“感謝金”。
但是,亞馬遜平臺的消費者數量的大幅增加,以及消費者購物量的增加,彌補了這些支出。奧爾薩夫斯基表示,雖然沒有準確數據,但在第二季度,亞馬遜在線零售銷售額同比增長了兩倍,平臺的Prime會員“購物頻率更高”、“購物量也變大了”。
奧爾薩夫斯基沒有提及亞馬遜的首席執行官杰夫·貝佐斯于7月29日的美國國會反壟斷聽證會上受到的盤問。在聽證會上,議員們針對亞馬遜、蘋果、谷歌和Facebook等科技巨頭的壟斷市場行為展開了提問。參與財報電話會議的分析師,也沒有提及反壟斷聽證會可能對亞馬遜造成的影響,他們的問題主要集中在,亞馬遜的第二季度表現,以及公司之后將如何使用這意料之外的巨額利潤。
奧爾薩夫斯基表示,諸如削減營銷支出、減少運輸及相關支出等舉措,為亞馬遜本季度的利潤增長做出了貢獻。當被問及,亞馬遜是否會把這筆額外的資金用于新的投資項目時,奧爾薩夫斯基說,公司已經“有了很多投資”,而且“一直在尋找新的投資項目”。他說,亞馬遜的大部分支出,都將用于建設必要的基礎設施,以滿足客戶持續的巨大需求。
該公司削減支出的一個領域是亞馬遜工作室的電視和電影部門。奧爾薩夫斯基的理由是,就像許多娛樂行業一樣,由于疫情,亞馬遜“推后了大部分劇片的錄制”。
“這樣是為了保護演員和攝制組。”奧爾薩夫斯基說。
但在第二季度,亞馬遜并非事事順利。
例如,該公司的AWS(亞馬遜網絡服務)云計算部門的銷售額為108億美元,同比僅增長29%。這雖然令人印象深刻,但卻意味著AWS的增長速度有所下降。上個季度,AWS的收入同比增長33%,達到了102億美元。據Gartner在7月的估算,企業在IT服務方面的支出下降,似乎影響到了亞馬遜的云計算業務,并對亞馬遜的競爭對手微軟的Azure云計算業務造成了相同影響,后者的收入增長速度也比以前更慢。
奧爾薩夫斯基表示,酒店和旅游業等行業的公司,在疫情期間受到的打擊尤其嚴重。它們“現在正非常努力地削減開支”,這意味著它們在亞馬遜云計算服務上的支出將會減少。他說,為了維持“長期健康的關系”,亞馬遜將繼續“幫助我們的客戶省錢”。換句話說,亞馬遜現在不會對陷入困境的客戶過分苛責,因為當經濟復蘇后,這些公司可能會愿意購買云服務產品。
盡管如此,奧爾薩夫斯基說,雖然大多數公司都受到了疫情的沖擊,但“也有贏家出現”。他表示,視頻會議,游戲和娛樂等行業“都出現了用戶量的增長”,這意味著這些領域的消費者需求更大,因此相關公司將在云服務上投入更多的資金。
確實,在疫情期間,使用AWS的視頻會議公司Zoom、流媒體公司Netflix和游戲公司藝電均擁有穩定的季度收益,且用戶數量出現了大幅增長。而亞馬遜,也是疫情期間仍蓬勃發展的公司名單中的一員。(財富中文網)
譯者:Shog
Amazon continues to benefit from COVID-19 as the company’s overall sales skyrocketed 40% year-over-year to $88.9 billion in its fiscal second quarter.
The online retail and cloud computing giant easily beat analyst expectations that it would bring in $81.24 billion in revenue for its latest quarter, which ended June 30. Amazon’s profits also doubled year-over-year to $5.2 billion in its latest quarter, which is notable considering the company said in April that it was projecting a loss of up to $1.5 billion in its second quarter due to the high costs associated with operating during the coronavirus pandemic.
Amazon chief financial officer Brian Olsavsky told analysts during an earnings call that the company spent over $4 billion on coronavirus-related expenses. These expenditures included adding additional safety measures at the company’s many warehouses and facilities, purchasing personal protective equipment for its numerous workers, and paying a $500 million “thank-you bonus” to logistics and delivery workers.
But the massive increase in consumers buying more goods via Amazon more than made up for the expense. Olsavsky said that online grocery sales tripled year-over-year in the latest quarter from an unspecified number and that customers of Amazon’s Prime paid-subscription service are “shopping more often” and with “larger basket sizes.”
Olsavsky made no mention of Amazon chief Jeff Bezos’s recent grilling by lawmakers on July 29 during a congressional hearing about antitrust and the power of tech giants like Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook. Analysts on the earnings call also didn't address the possible ramifications of the antitrust hearings on Amazon, with questions mostly focusing on the company's solid quarter and what it plans to do with its unexpected big profits.
Olsavsky said that actions like cutting down on marketing spend and reducing travel and related expenses helped contribute to Amazon’s profits for the quarter. When asked whether Amazon would use the extra cash to spend on new investment areas, Olsavsky said that the company already has “a lot of investments already in place” and that Amazon is “always looking for new investments.” He said that much of Amazon’s spending is going to building the necessary infrastructure required to handle the continued heavy demand from customers.
One area that the company cut back on was its Amazon Studios television and film unit, which Olsavsky attributed to Amazon having “to delay production in most studios”—like much of the entertainment industry—due to COVID-19.
“We are doing that to protect the actors and film crews,” Olsavsky said.
Not everything went smoothly for Amazon during its latest quarter.
Sales in the company’s AWS (Amazon Web Services) cloud computing unit only grew 29% year-over-year to $10.8 billion, which, while impressive, marks a decline in how fast AWS is growing. Last quarter, for instance, AWS revenue rose 33% year-over-year to $10.2 billion. It appears that lower corporate spending in IT services, as measured by Gartner in July, is affecting Amazon’s cloud unit in the same way it’s affecting the Azure cloud computing business of Amazon rival Microsoft, which is also growing more slowly than before.
Olsavsky said that companies in industries like hospitality and travel that have been hit especially hard during the coronavirus pandemic are “working very hard right now to cut expenses,” implying that they are spending less on Amazon’s cloud computing service. He said that Amazon will continue to “help our customers save money” for “the long-term health of the relationship.” In other words, Amazon’s not going to be a stickler with its struggling customers right now, because those companies might want to do some major cloud service purchases when the economy recovers.
Still, Olsavsky said that while most companies are hurting because of COVID-19, there are “certainly winners in this.” He said sectors like video conferencing, gaming, and entertainment are “all seeing usage growth,” meaning that companies in those areas are seeing more consumer demand, and therefore, are spending more on cloud services to accommodate.
Indeed, video conferencing company Zoom, streaming service Netflix, and video-gaming company Electronic Arts—who all use AWS—have all had solid quarters during the pandemic, showing big user growth. You can add Amazon to that list of companies thriving during COVID-19.