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Investing.com - HSBC maintained its Buy rating and $256.00 price target on Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) following the company’s second-quarter earnings report that exceeded analyst expectations. According to InvestingPro data, Amazon currently has a strong analyst consensus rating of 1.33 (Strong Buy), with price targets ranging from $209 to $306.
Amazon reported second-quarter net sales of $167.7 billion, representing a 13.3% year-over-year increase and beating consensus estimates of $162.2 billion by 3.4%. Operating income rose 30.6% year-over-year to $19.2 billion, surpassing consensus expectations of $17.0 billion by 12.9%. The company maintains robust financial health with an overall "GOOD" rating from InvestingPro, supported by strong revenue growth of 10.87% over the last twelve months.
The strong performance marked a significant acceleration compared to first-quarter results, which saw 9.6% year-over-year growth in net sales and 20.3% growth in operating income. North America and International divisions drove the earnings beat, with North America operating income growing 48.4% year-over-year to $5.8 billion and International operating income increasing nearly fivefold to $1.5 billion. With a market capitalization of $2.27 trillion and impressive gross margins of 49.61%, Amazon continues to demonstrate its dominance in global retail. For deeper insights into Amazon’s valuation and growth metrics, check out the comprehensive Pro Research Report available on InvestingPro.
AWS results fell short of expectations, with operating income missing consensus by 6.6%. The company reported capital expenditures of $32.2 billion, 25% higher than the consensus estimate of $25.6 billion, reflecting increased investment to support growth in cloud and AI initiatives.
Amazon ended the quarter with $61.5 billion in cash and cash equivalents, which HSBC noted was broadly in line with expectations after accounting for the higher capital expenditures.
In other recent news, Amazon reported impressive second-quarter financial results, with net sales reaching $167.7 billion, a 13.3% increase from the previous year, surpassing analyst estimates of $162.2 billion. The company’s operating income also rose significantly, reaching $19.2 billion, exceeding projections of $17.0 billion. Following these strong earnings, HSBC maintained its Buy rating with a price target of $256.00. Barclays (LON:BARC) raised its price target to $275.00, citing Amazon’s strong performance and potential in artificial intelligence. BofA Securities also increased its price target to $272.00, highlighting robust retail growth as a key factor in the company’s outperformance. Meanwhile, UBS reiterated its Buy rating, despite Amazon Web Services’ growth slightly missing expectations. In restructuring news, Amazon announced the closure of its Wondery podcast studio, resulting in 110 job cuts. This move is part of a broader reorganization of its audio services.
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