Amazon’s extraordinary growth continued into the first quarter of 2018, as total revenue jumped 43% over the first period of 2017. Operating income at the company soared 92%. Total revenue hit $51 billion, while operating earnings were $1.9 billion.
The revenue gain included $4.26 billion in sales through physical stores—the company completed its purchase of Whole Foods in last year’s third quarter. Among its ongoing operations, Amazon’s s online store had the slowest growth, as sales rose 18% over the first quarter of 2017, to just under $30 billion. The company’s second largest segment, third party sellers, saw a 44% revenue gain with sales reaching $9.3 billion. Amazon’s cloud service division posted a 49% increase in the quarter, hitting $5.4 billion
There is no indication that Amazon sees any significant slowing of sales growth. For the second quarter, it predicted revenue will rise between 34% and 42% over last year’s second period. It estimated operating income will be between $1.1 billion and $1.9 billion, compared to $628 million in the second quarter of 2017.
