Amazon talks AI, not grocery, during Q3 call

Amazon said it was diving into AI as it announced positive third quarter results, reports Yahoo.

The delivery giants’ CEO Andy Jassy said during the earnings call that AI is an opportunity that is worth tens of billions of dollars for Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Jassy also said Amazon’s AI business is growing very, very quickly. So far the company has invested $1.25 billion in AI company Anthropic, and the investment could grow to as much as $4 billion.

However, nothing was said about grocery during the earnings call. From September through October, Amazon’s grocery sector experienced mixed results in terms of news.

A new Amazon Go store opened in Puyallup, Wash., despite Jassy’s declaration that Amazon Go debuts were on pause.

Amazon, however, continued to deal with Amazon Fresh “zombie” stores—properties where it was supposed to open Amazon Fresh grocery stores but didn’t—and is reportedly facing several lawsuits.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also accused the delivery company of monopoly-like behavior. The FTC and 17 states attorneys are suing Amazon. 

For the third quarter, Amazon put up an impressive $9.9 billion profit.

AWS sales were up 12% year-over-year at just over $23 billion and Amazon net sales were slightly above projections at just over $143 billion. Giving Amazon sales a boost in Q3 was its Prime Day, which brought in record numbers.

Related:Amazon Fresh store becomes world’s first to achieve Zero Carbon Certification

“From a customer behavior standpoint, we still see customers remaining cautious about price, trading down where they can and seeking out deals, coupled with lower spending on discretionary items,” said Brian Olsavsky, senior VP and CFO of Amazon.

Net sales for AWS, however, came up short of projections. Wall Street was looking at $23.13 billion and the actual figure was $23.06 billion.  

The company’s operating income came in at $7 billion, which is a 29% increase vs. Q3 2022.

Looking ahead at Q4, Amazon is predicting net sales will fall in the $160 billion to $167 billion range, a 7% to 12% increase year-over-year, and operating income to fall between $7 billion to $11 billion.