 Amazon's conference call with analysts is at 5:00 pm EST today, here is the company's press release announcing fourth quarter 2014 earnings, you can view the full release with tables on Amazon's investor relations website.
Amazon.com Announces Fourth Quarter Sales up 15% to $29.33 Billion
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced financial results for its fourth quarter ended December 31, 2014.
Operating cash flow increased 25% to $6.84 billion for the trailing twelve months, compared with $5.47 billion for the trailing twelve months ended December 31, 2013. Free cash flow decreased to $1.95 billion for the trailing twelve months, compared with $2.03 billion for the trailing twelve months ended December 31, 2013.
Common shares outstanding plus shares underlying stock-based awards totaled 483 million on December 31, 2014, compared with 476 million one year ago.
Fourth Quarter 2014
Net sales increased 15% to $29.33 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with $25.59 billion in fourth quarter 2013. Excluding the $895 million unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, net sales increased 18% compared to fourth quarter 2013.
Operating income was $591 million in the fourth quarter, compared with operating income of $510 million in fourth quarter 2013.
Net income was $214 million in the fourth quarter, or $0.45 per diluted share, compared with net income of $239 million, or $0.51 per diluted share, in fourth quarter 2013.
Full Year 2014
Net sales increased 20% to $88.99 billion, compared with $74.45 billion in 2013. Excluding the $636 million unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the year, net sales increased 20% compared with 2013.
Operating income was $178 million, compared with operating income of $745 million in 2013.
Net loss was $241 million, or $0.52 per diluted share, compared with net income of $274 million, or $0.59 per diluted share, in 2013.
"When we raised the price of Prime membership last year, we were confident that customers would continue to find it the best bargain in the history of shopping. The data is in and customers agree - on a base of tens of millions, worldwide paid membership grew 53% last year - 50% in the U.S. and even a bit faster outside the U.S.," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. "Prime is a one-of-a-kind, all-you-can-eat, physical-digital hybrid - in 2014 alone we paid billions of dollars for Prime shipping and invested $1.3 billion in Prime Instant Video. We'll continue to work hard for our Prime members."
Selected Highlights (See full press release for all highlights.)
The number of Amazon sellers using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) grew by more than 65% year-over-year in 2014. In the fourth quarter, FBA units represented more than 40% of total third-party units.
Amazon unveiled its 8th generation fulfillment center which utilizes robotics, vision systems, and almost 20 years worth of software and mechanical innovations to fulfill customer orders. During the holiday season, the fulfillment network included more than 15,000 robots in 10 fulfillment centers across the U.S.
Amazon.co.uk announced that Sunday deliveries have grown by more than 4x in the last year as more customers across the U.K. discover the benefits of receiving orders seven days a week. The increase in Sunday deliveries has been made possible in large part due to the introduction of Amazon Logistics, a technology and logistics platform that empowers independent local, regional, and national delivery companies across the U.K. to deliver Amazon parcels to customers seven days a week.
In 2014, the second year of its operation, Amazon.in emerged as India's largest online store. It launched 24 new departments, increasing selection to over 19 million products, and grew its seller base exponentially to more than 16,000 sellers.
Amazon launched Amazon Global Store on the China site, www.amazon.cn. The store provides approximately 200,000 products selected from the Amazon U.S. website based on the most popular Chinese customer demands. Chinese customers are now able to enjoy the same quality product at the same price as U.S. customers, while having a Chinese shopping experience, local customer service, and direct shipment to their homes.
Financial Guidance
The following forward-looking statements reflect Amazon.com's expectations as of January 29, 2015, and are subject to substantial uncertainty. Our results are inherently unpredictable and may be materially affected by many factors, such as fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, changes in global economic conditions and consumer spending, world events, the rate of growth of the Internet and online commerce, and the various factors detailed below.
First Quarter 2015 Guidance
Net sales are expected to be between $20.9 billion and $22.9 billion, or to grow between 6% and 16% compared with first quarter 2014.
Operating income (loss) is expected to be between $(450) million and $50 million, compared to $146 million in first quarter 2014.
This guidance includes approximately $450 million for stock-based compensation and amortization of intangible assets, and it assumes, among other things, that no additional business acquisitions, investments, restructurings, or legal settlements are concluded and that there are no further revisions to stock-based compensation estimates.
A conference call will be webcast live today at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET, and will be available for at least three months at www.amazon.com/ir. This call will contain forward-looking statements and other material information regarding the Company's financial and operating results.
Update 1/30/15: See Friday's Newsflash story on Amazon Q4 earnings.
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Amazon Releases Fourth Quarter 2014 Earnings
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