On October 31, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) announced its financial results for the third quarter ending September 30, 2024. The company achieved a net sales increase of 11% year-over-year, reaching $158.9 billion, with substantial growth across its North America, International, and AWS segments. Excluding the impact of currency fluctuations, net sales rose by 11% compared to the third quarter of 2023.
Amazon’s North America segment reported a 9% year-over-year increase to $95.5 billion, while the International segment grew by 12% to $35.9 billion, and AWS (Amazon Web Services) saw a 19% boost, reaching $27.5 billion. Operating income also substantially increased, reaching $17.4 billion from $11.2 billion in the same period last year.
Reflecting on this growth, Amazon President & CEO Andy Jassy said, “As we get into the holiday season, we’re excited about what we have in store for customers.”
“We kicked off the holiday season with our biggest-ever Prime Big Deal Days and the launch of an all-new Kindle lineup that is significantly outperforming our expectations; and there’s so much more coming, from tens of millions of deals, to our NFL Black Friday game and Election Day coverage with Brian Williams on Prime Video, to over 100 new cloud infrastructure and AI capabilities that we’ll share at AWS re: Invent the week after Thanksgiving.”
Amazon’s cash flow metrics have also continued to improve. Operating cash flow over the trailing twelve months surged 57% year-over-year to $112.7 billion, while free cash flow increased to $47.7 billion from $21.4 billion in the same period last year.
As November begins and competition intensifies, Amazon is strengthening its fast delivery network and expanding its low-cost product offerings to secure a competitive edge for the holiday season. Additionally, the company is actively advancing AI-driven innovations and leveraging its expanding AWS business to drive further growth.