Amazon Shares Tumble on Weak Holiday Sales Forecast and High Cash Burn
Amazon’s Financial Performance and Market Reaction
By Deborah Mary Sophia and Greg Bensinger
Oct 29 (Reuters) - Amazon.com on Thursday reported a massive cash burn in the third quarter and forecast holiday-quarter revenue largely below Wall Street estimates, sending shares lower.
Investors soured on the company, driving shares down nearly 7% in extended trading. The shares had declined 4.3% in regular trading to end at $243.79.
Revenue Forecast and Cash Burn Details
The Seattle-based retailer expects revenue of between $240.0 billion and $247.0 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with analysts' average estimate of $244.51 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. The company said it burned $42.4 billion on a trailing 12-month basis in the September quarter, driven by capital expenditure of $77.26 billion which was some $20 billion above estimates, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Amazon reported cash burn of $7.6 billion in the prior quarter, and generated $14.8 billion in the third quarter of last year.
Analyst Reactions
"The free cash flow looks like the ugly part of the report," said Dave Wagner, portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors. "Operations generated plenty of cash but their capex just absolutely swallowed it."
"The trend is pretty steep and pretty negative, and that's the big thing that is alarming in this report."
AI Spending and Industry Comparisons
Like competitors, Amazon has made a huge spending commitment to developing AI software and infrastructure, forecasting $220 billion in capital expenditures this year. Amazon and Google parent Alphabet have maintained their spending expectations, though Microsoft on Wednesday lowered its own to $170 billion from $175 billion.
Jesse Cohen, a senior analyst at Investing.com, also pointed to Amazon's free cash flow and "weak guidance" as reasons for the share decline. "Amazon's third-quarter report landed as a double disappointment."
Cloud and Advertising Business Performance
CLOUD BUSINESS DRIVES GROWTH
Revenue at Amazon Web Services rose 39% to $46 billion in the third quarter ended September, compared with analysts' estimate for a 38.2% increase to $45.61 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. AWS revenue recorded a 37% jump in the second quarter.
The company also maintained its annual capital spending forecast of about $220 billion.
Advertising and Retail Outlook
Advertising sales were another disappointment, rising just 12% to $19.6 billion from a year earlier, below the 18% estimate from LSEG — the first time it missed analyst estimates in seven quarters. The results marked much slower growth than the second quarter's 26% or the 2025 third quarter's 22%.
The downbeat fourth-quarter outlook signals US retailers could face pain in the holiday season, as consumers tighten shopping budgets amid higher gasoline prices and the rising cost of living.
Industry and Investor Perspectives
Still, recent industry forecasts predict holiday sales will accelerate from last year. The National Retail Federation earlier this month predicted a 4.2% jump in total US holiday season sales.
While retail sales account for the majority of Amazon's revenue, investor focus has shifted sharply toward its cloud computing business, Amazon Web Services, in recent years, as the tech company spends heavily to build out data centers and compete in the global AI race.
Amazon's cloud unit grew at its fastest pace in nearly five years.
At its e-commerce business, Amazon has been rolling out faster delivery services globally and expanding to more rural areas in the US to draw more shoppers.
Reporting Credits
(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru and Greg Bensinger in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Arriana McLymore in New York; Editing by Pooja Desai and Matthew Lewis)