Thomas Lyons 
Amazon has reported better-than-expected net sales of $127.36bn in the first three months of 2021, beating analyst estimates and sending its shares up by approximately 9% in extended trading. The company’s growth in Amazon Web Services (AWS), a major source of profit, slowed to 15.8% in Q1, while businesses wary of recession have reduced their spending. Despite this, Amazon’s CEO, Andy Jassy, has aimed to clamp down on spending across the company’s vast array of businesses to address ongoing worries about the economy. Last month, he announced that Amazon would cut more jobs from its cloud and advertising divisions, expanding the company’s layoffs since November to 27,000 employees, or 9% of its roughly 300,000-strong corporate staff.
Amazon is seeking new revenue in the face of inflation that hurt retail demand in Europe, among other challenges. Beyond higher grocery delivery fees for US Prime loyalty members, the company is offering an add-on generic-drug subscription and marketed discounted membership for primary care services after closing a deal to buy provider One Medical in February. Amazon has also ended entire services, including on Wednesday when it said it would pull its lineup of Halo health trackers and refund recent purchases.
Intel, the chipmaker, has forecast second-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates, indicating that chip demand was recovering after a downturn caused by excess supply and a post-pandemic slump in the personal computer market. The company has also ramped up shipments of its most powerful data center chip, Sapphire Rapids, which was delayed for over a year. Intel has a commanding share of the markets for PC and server processing chips, and the company has planned to spend billions of dollars to build out new manufacturing hubs and improve the design and performance of its products.
Elsewhere, corporate results on both sides of the Atlantic have so far pointed to no recession threat despite inflation and interest-rate hikes, at least for now. In Europe, shares in grocery giant Unilever rose on better-than-expected quarterly underlying sales, as the supplier raised prices yet again to compensate for higher commodity and supply-chain costs. Unilever makes Domestos and Cif cleaners, Sunsilk and Lifebuoy soaps, Hellmann’s and Knorr foods, and Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum, and Cornetto ice-creams. Both Barclays and Deutsche Bank delivered estimate-beating quarterly profits, helping ease global banking fears. In the US, results from Mastercard and car-rental giant Hertz Global pointed to strong summer demand. Hertz said it was preparing for strong summer travel demand, driving its shares up as much as 4%. Mastercard has bet on resilient travel spending. “Consumer spending has remained remarkably resilient, and that despite continued economic uncertainty,” said chief executive Michael Miebach. However, Mastercard also disclosed the US Justice Department was conducting a competition probe of its US debit program.
In Q1 2021, Amazon’s net sales were $127.36bn, beating analyst estimates and sending its shares up by approximately 9% in extended trading. The company’s growth in Amazon Web Services (AWS), a major source of profit, slowed to 15.8%, while businesses wary of recession have reduced their spending. To address ongoing worries about the economy, Amazon’s CEO, Andy Jassy, has aimed to clamp down on spending across the company’s vast array of businesses. Last month, he announced that Amazon would cut more jobs from its cloud and advertising divisions, expanding the company’s layoffs since November to 27,000 employees, or 9% of its roughly 300,000-strong corporate staff.
Amazon is seeking new revenue in the face of inflation that hurt retail demand in Europe, among other challenges. Beyond higher grocery delivery fees for US Prime loyalty members, the company is offering an add-on generic-drug subscription and marketed discounted membership for primary care services after closing a deal to buy provider One Medical in February. Amazon has also ended entire services, including on Wednesday when it said it would pull its lineup of Halo health trackers and refund recent purchases.
In contrast, Intel, the chipmaker, has forecast second-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates, indicating that chip demand was recovering after a downturn caused by excess supply and a post-pandemic slump in the personal computer market. The company has also ramped up shipments of its most powerful data center chip, Sapphire Rapids, which was delayed for over a year. Intel has a commanding share of the markets for PC and server processing chips, and the company has planned to spend billions of dollars to build out new manufacturing hubs and improve the design and performance of its products.
Corporate results on both sides of the Atlantic have so far pointed to no recession threat despite inflation and interest-rate hikes, at least for now. In Europe, shares in grocery giant Unilever rose on better-than-expected quarterly underlying sales, as the supplier raised prices yet again to compensate for higher commodity and supply-chain costs. Both Barclays and Deutsche Bank delivered estimate-beating quarterly profits, helping ease global banking fears. In the US, results from Mastercard and car-rental giant Hertz Global pointed to strong summer demand. Hertz said it was preparing for strong summer travel demand, driving its shares up as much as 4%. Mastercard has bet on resilient travel spending. However, Mastercard also disclosed that the US Justice Department was conducting a competition probe of its US debit program.
