10 Amazon Analysts Assess Q2 Earnings: Strong AWS Growth, Retail Challenges

Author: Priya Nigam | August 02, 2024 12:00pm

Shares of Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) tanked in early trading on Friday, after the company reporting mixed second-quarter results.

The results came amid an exciting earnings season. Here are some key analyst takeaways.

Piper Sandler On Amazon

Analyst Thomas Champion reiterated an Overweight rating, while reducing the price target from $220 to $215.

Amazon reported a mixed quarter, with revenues of $148 billion, up 10% year-on-year, Champion said in a note. "AWS is solidly in re-acceleration mode with growth at 19% and exceeding the Street outlook," he added.

The analyst stated, however, that the company's retail revenues were light. Management guided to third-quarter revenues of $154 billion to $158.5 billion and operating income of $11.5 billion to $15 billion, with the mid-points of both coming in below expectations, he added.

JPMorgan On Amazon

Analyst Doug Anmuth maintained an Overweight rating, while cutting the price target from $240 to $230.

Near-term drivers are shifting to Cloud, and AWS delivered its second consecutive quarter of strong revenue acceleration and healthy margins of 35.5%, Anmuth said. Total retail growth decelerated, with core retail margins remaining below the pre-pandemic levels, albeit with some sequential expansion, he added.

"We're encouraged by AWS growth & its positioning across the full GenAI tech stack, & we believe AWS can continue to tighten the GenAI gap w/other leading player," the analyst wrote. Retail could face margin headwinds in the third quarter but should continue to expand over time, he further stated.

Goldman Sachs On Amazon

Analyst Eric Sheridan reaffirmed a Buy rating, while slashing the price target from $250 to $230.

Amazon's delivered solid results "supported by stronger margins at AWS (a robust 33.5%) and International (positive for 2nd consecutive quarter)," Sheridan said. The quarter provided "confirmation of the relative resilience of the AMZN consumer," with paid units growing by 11% year-on-year, he added.

It was a "particularly strong quarter for AWS," in which revenue growth reaccelerated and management "maintained a consistent tone around Cloud growth benefiting from a mixture of easing optimization, resumption of regular-way migrations and a rising contribution of AI workloads," the analyst wrote.

Roth Capital Partners On Amazon

Analyst Rohit Kulkarni maintained a Buy rating, while raising the price target to $215.

The reacceleration of revenue growth at AWS was "the big positive of 2Q earnings," Kulkarni said. He added, however, that the third-quarter guidance "feels soft," with a "seasonal step-up in retail hiring and softness in high-ticket items."

The analyst expressed concern around Amazon's capital expenditure increasing in 2024. "CapEx was $17bn in 2Q, bringing 1H to $30.5bn and FY expected to accelerate as AWS AI demand brings on even more infrastructure requirements," he wrote.

BofA Securities On Amazon

Analyst Justin Post maintained a Buy rating, while cutting the price target from $220 to $210.

“AWS growth at 19% was positive surprise vs. Street at 17%, with mgmt. noting growth in AI workloads,” Post wrote. He added that the midpoint of the third-quarter revenue guidance range came in 1.3% below Street expectations and reflects a slowdown in revenue growth to 9.2%, from 10.1% in the second quarter.

The profit guidance “reflects seasonality from Prime Day, ramping holiday capacity, and digital content (NFL returns in 3Q),” the analyst wrote. “Amazon usually beats in 3Q, and at the high end of the guidance range profits would grow q/q in 3Q despite Prime Day margin pressure and more retail capacity coming online, a positive trend vs usual q/q seasonality,” he further stated.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

JMP Securities On Amazon

Analyst Nicholas Jones reiterated a Market Outperform rating and price target of $245.

Amazon reported net sales of $148.0 billion, missing expectations of $148.7 billion, while operating income and margins of $14.7 billion and 9.9% came in above consensus of $13.7 billion and 9.2%, respectively, Jones said.

"AMZN’s advertising business remains a large opportunity given the nascent days of Prime Video advertising and ad optimization efforts on AMZN’s retail sites," the analyst wrote. "AMZN’s retail business is likely to remain durable given its expanding selection of lower-priced items and assortment of essentials, while optimization efforts should continue to support margins," he added.

Truist Securities On Amazon

Analyst Youssef Squali maintained a Buy rating and price target of $230.

"AMZN delivered 2Q24 results that were virtually in line on revenue, better on the bottom line and provided a 3Q guide that was lighter on both," Squali wrote in a note.

While AWS and advertising delivered a better-than-expected performance, "Marketplace was negatively impacted by FX and a tougher macro weighing on ASPs and discretionary spend," the analyst stated. "We view these issues as transitory and continue to see AMZN as one of the best ways to play Cloud, AI, digital ads and logistics," he added.

Benchmark On Amazon

Analyst Daniel Kurnos reaffirmed a Buy rating and price target of $200.

Amazon's quarterly revenues were around $1 billion below expectations, "with management noting headwinds from recently implemented fee changes, including low ASP apparel fee reductions in 1Q and the bifurcation of inbound and outbound seller fees in 4Q that produced much different behavioral patterns than anticipated," Kurnos said.

"The real issue, however, was the forward guidance, with consensus only barely inside the revenue range as we thought the Street had baked in too much sequentially for an increasingly competitive Prime Day period," the analyst wrote. Management announced plans of incremental investments in Project Kuiper "to get thousands of satellites off the ground in 4Q," he added.

Wedbush On Amazon

Analyst Scott Devitt maintained an Outperform rating and price target of $225.

AWS growth accelerated by around 150 basis points sequentially and added about $1.2 billion more in revenues, Devitt said. "The acceleration at AWS is firmly underway with +20% Y/Y growth achievable in 4Q," he added.

"The underlying revenue mix shift to higher-margin AWS and advertising revenue is structural and will contribute billions of dollars of incremental profit each year," the analyst wrote. Advertising and AWS together could account for 31% of consolidated revenue by 2029, versus 26% in 2024, he added.

Guggenheim Securities On Amazon

Analyst Michael Morris said that ad inventory for Amazon's Black Friday NFL game is sold out, according to three sources with knowledge of negotiations. According to media buyers, Black Friday inventory had reached sellout as of early July, he added.

"A 30-second unit in Amazon's Black Friday game costs between $650,000 to $750,000 on average, with variation higher or lower based on an advertisers' broader deal with Amazon, according to three buyers," the analyst further wrote.

AMZN Price Action: Shares of Amazon were down 10.6% to $165.87 at the time of publication on Friday.

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Posted In: AMZN