Amazon Sales Move to $22.72 Billion In First Quarter

Amazon has shown a 15% increase in sales based on its announced latest quarterly report.

According to the company’s press release, the company’s operating cash flow increased 47% to $7.84 billion for the trailing twelve months, compared with $5.35 billion for the trailing twelve months ended March 31, 2014. Free cash flow increased to $3.16 billion for the trailing twelve months, compared with $1.49 billion for the trailing twelve months ended March 31, 2014.

Common shares outstanding plus shares underlying stock-based awards totaled 483 million on March 31, 2015, compared with 476 million one year ago.

Net sales increased 15% to $22.72 billion in the first quarter compared with $19.74 billion in the first quarter 2014. Excluding the $1.3 billion unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, net sales increased 22% compared to the first quarter 2014.

Operating income increased 74% to $255 million in the first quarter, compared with operating income of $146 million in first quarter 2014.

The company reported a net loss of $57 million in the first quarter or $0.12 per diluted share compared with net income of $108 million or $0.23 per diluted share in the first quarter 2014.

The company’s report highlighted a number of new initiatives in terms of product launched and service offered.

In addition, Amazon broke out the numbers for its cloud computing unit, Amazon Web Services, for the first time, intimating that revenue in the unit rose 49 percent to $1.57 billion.

“Amazon Web Services is a $5 billion business and still growing fast — in fact it’s accelerating,” said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com.

“Born a decade ago, AWS is a good example of how we approach ideas and risk-taking at Amazon. We strive to focus relentlessly on the customer, innovate rapidly, and drive operational excellence. We manage by two seemingly contradictory traits: impatience to deliver faster and a willingness to think long term. We are so grateful to our AWS customers and remain dedicated to inventing on their behalf,” continued Bezos.