Amazon posts solid sales but softer cloud growth

Amazon posted stronger than expected sales for the 2022 holiday shopping season, but shares fell in after-hours trading on slowed growth for its cloud computing division, AWS.

Overall, net sales for the ecommerce group, which has been battling cost-conscious consumers and spiralling costs, were $142.2bn in the three months to December 31, up 9 per cent from 2021 and exceeding analysts’ estimates. Robust sales events during the holiday season offered glimmers of hope that Amazon’s retail business may be staging a recovery.