Amazon sees profits drop sharply but net sales increase 

Amazon’s operating income for the three months to 31st December 2022 fell to $2.7bn (£2.2bn) from $3.5bn (£2.8bn) in 2021, however sales increased, according to the retail giant’s latest financial results.

It said its operating income was hit by $2.7bn (£2.2bn) of charges related to "self-insurance liabilities, impairments of property and equipment and operating leases, and estimated severance costs". These charges primarily impacted the North America segment, Amazon said.

Net sales increased 9% to $149.2bn (£122bn) compared to $137.4bn (£113bn) in the same period last year. For the overall year, net sales increased 9% to $514bn (£422bn) in 2022, compared to $469.8bn (£385bn) in 2021. The company attributed the jump in sales in part to its cloud computing business, AWS, which saw segment sales increase 20% year-over-year to $21.4bn (£19.7bn).

Andy Jassy, Amazon c.e.o., said: “Our relentless focus on providing the broadest selection, exceptional value, and fast delivery drove customer demand in our stores business during the fourth quarter that exceeded our expectations—and we’re appreciative of all our customers who turned to Amazon this past holiday season.

“We’re also encouraged by the continued progress we’re making in reducing our cost to serve in the operations part of our stores business. In the short term, we face an uncertain economy, but we remain quite optimistic about the long-term opportunities for Amazon.