Investors were busy digesting the quarterly results from Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), and Meta Platforms (META) last Friday. While Meta Platforms announced its first-ever dividend, both Amazon and Apple exceeded their top and bottom-line expectations.
Amazon Q4 Review
Amazon reported Q4 earnings of $1.01 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus of $0.81 a share by 24%. Q4 earnings soared 380% from the comparative quarter, with sales of $169.96 billion beating estimates by 2% and leaping 14% YoY. Amazon’s net income of $10.6 billion, a significant increase from the previous year’s $300 million, was attributed to a record-breaking holiday shopping season and impressive growth in its North America and International segment sales. The AWS segment sales were up 13% to $24.2 billion during Q4, although slightly missing estimates of $24.37 billion. Amazon’s total sales were up 12% in FY23 to $574.8 billion with a net income of $30.4 billion, a substantial swing from a net loss of -$2.7 billion a year ago. Annual earnings of $2.90 per share skyrocketed 308% from $0.71 a share in 2022.
Apple Q1 Review
Apple’s Q1 earnings of $2.18 per share marked a 16% YoY increase to a new record high and exceeded the Zacks Consensus by 4%. Quarterly sales of $119.57 billion topped estimates by over 1% and rose 2% YoY. The company reported net income of $33.92 billion, up 13% from the previous year’s quarter. Apple’s growth was fueled by iPhone sales and an all-time revenue record in its Services segment sales, with iPhone sales beating estimates by 1%, although Services sales were still -1% short of the consensus.
Bottom Line
Following their favorable quarterly results, Amazon’s stock currently sports a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), while Apple lands a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). The trend of positive earnings estimate revisions looks likely to continue for Amazon, while investors may want to monitor Apple’s warning of softer iPhone sales during the current quarter despite the company’s immense potential.