Amazon’s company-wide layoffs appeared to have helped the company achieve their stated goal of improving the company’s bottom line. Operating income for the first quarter ended March 31 rose 30%, to $4.8 billion, over the first quarter of 2022 on a revenue gain of 9%, to $127.4 billion. The improved earnings include a charge of $500 million to cover estimated severance costs.
Amazon has been engaged in cost-cutting across the company for months. Those efforts included layoffs in its book group and Comixology operations, as well as closing all of its bookstores. The company's total workforce has shrunk by about 10% since its peak in 2022. In a conference call, CFO Brian Olsavksy didn't rule out cuts in the future.
Sales in all of Amazon’s operating segments rose in the quarter, with one exception: online stores, where revenue was flat at $51 billion. Sales in Amazon's biggest growth driver, Amazon Web Services, slowed to 16% in the quarter, but the group generated operating earnings of $5.1 billion—the lion’s share of the company’s profits.
The overall financial performance exceeded analysts’ expectations, though its forecast for the second quarter met with mixed reception from investors. The company said it expects sales to grow between 5% and 10% compared with second quarter 2022, while operating income is expected to be between $2.0 billion and $5.5 billion, compared with $3.3 billion in second quarter 2022.
