Amazon brings in more than $113B thanks to its most successful Prime Day

Amazon posted strong sales but missed expectations.

What you need to know

• Amazon announced its Q2 2021 earnings on Thursday.
• The company’s revenue grew to more than $113 billion, just missing sales estimates.
• Prime Day and AWS were big drivers during the second quarter.

Amazon’s second-quarter earnings report showed big gains for the company thanks in part to Prime Day, but analysts weren’t too impressed by the company missing sales estimates.

The company managed over $113 billion in revenue, driven by its highest Prime Day sales, seeing more than 250 million items purchased during the two-day event. What was the most popular item? The Fire TV Stick 4K with Alexa Voice Remote, which is admittedly one of the best streaming devices you can get.

AWS also continued to grow, amassing nearly $15 billion in revenue and shows increased growth compared to last quarter.

However, while Amazon managed impressive numbers, the company also missed sales estimates by roughly two billion, and the outlook for this quarter may give analysts pause.

The company expects revenue this quarter to fall somewhere between $106 billion and $112 billion, which is below estimates of nearly $119 billion.

Numbers are in $AMZN – Miss on revenue Beat on EPS.#Earnings

*AMAZON 2Q NET SALES $113.1B, EST. $115.06B
*AMAZON 2Q EPS $15.12, EST. $12.28
*AMAZON SEES 3Q NET SALES $106.0B TO $112.0B, EST. $118.70B

— Daniel Newman (@danielnewmanUV) July 29, 2021

Amazon CFO Brian Brian Olsavsky attributes its numbers to the changing climate as restrictions ease and more people return to work amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Q2 of this year was a transition period for many of our customers. As the quarter progress, people were at home less, restrictions and lockdowns eased in some of our largest geographies, including the US and much of Europe. As a result, while Prime members continue to spend more with us, growth in Prime member spend moderated compared to spending seen during the peak of the pandemic.

With online spending slowing down, the company will have to lean on AWS to continue its momentum. However, that shouldn’t be a problem, as the former AWS head, Andy Jassy, is now the CEO at Amazon following Jeff Bezos’ exit into space. With strong Q2 sales in the segment, Jassy has a positive outlook for AWS “as more companies bring forward plans to transform their businesses and move to the cloud.”

Alexa in your hand

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K

$40 at Amazon $53 at Walmart

Plug and play

The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K was the most popular Prime Day item and for a reason. It offers easy access to Alexa, with voice navigation for your favorite apps and shows, all in glorious 4K resolution.