Robert Besser
03 Aug 2022, 04:53 GMT+10
CUPERTINO, California: In a sign that will reassure investors that they can weather a global economic slowdown, Amazon and Apple posted better than expected sales this week.
Despite rising prices, both companies said they were making progress in controlling operating costs, which sent shares soaring.
The quarterly updates from Apple and Amazon are closely watched as indicators of how customers are reacting to the economic climate.
Figures released this week showed the U.S. economy shrank for the second consecutive quarter, a sign that many countries would consider being in an economic recession except in the U.S., which uses additional data.
"Our June quarter results continued to demonstrate our ability to manage our business effectively, despite the challenging operating environment," said Apple's chief operating officer Luca Maestri, adding that the company expected growth to pick up again in the months ahead.
However, both companies have seen sales growth slow down from last year, and profits fall.
Amidst COVID-19 lockdowns in China, Apple's profits fell almost 11 percent from one year ago to $19.4 billion, while Amazon lost $2 billion due to changes to the value of its investment in electric carmaker Rivian Automotive.
Amazon was witnessing a "mixed bag" of economic signals, Apple head Tim Cook said, adding, "When you think about the number of challenges in the quarter, we feel really good about the growth that we put up."
Between April and June, overall sales of Apple products and services increased 2 percent year-on-year to $83 billion, with iPhone sales continuing to drive the company's gains, while supply issues have held back sales of its other products.
Meanwhile, Amazon said, despite its e-commerce business struggling in recent months, its revenues were up 7 percent to $121.2 billion, shielded by the strength of its cloud computing division, AWS, which saw sales surge by 33 percent.
Meanwhile Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy said, "Despite continued inflationary pressures in fuel, energy, and transportation costs, we're making progress on the more controllable costs we referenced last quarter, particularly improving the productivity of our fulfillment network."
Laura Hoy, equity analyst from Hargreaves Lansdown, noted, "Big tech has been a mixed bag this earnings season, but Amazon proved that the strong can survive even the toughest environments," as quoted by the BBC.
Get a daily dose of Argentina Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Argentina Star.
More InformationLONDON, England: Official figures have been released indicating that in the year to June, the UK recorded its highest increase ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the sale of over-the-counter hearing aids for people with mild ...
DHAKA, Bangladesh - Michelle Bachelet has urged the Bangladesh government to establish an independent investigation into allegations of enforced disappearances. ...
LONDON, England: Despite a legal challenge in London's High Court in early September, the UK government is continuing to pursue ...
NEW DELHI, India: During his national day address this week, Prime Minister NarendraModi said India will seek to become a ...
LONDON, England: The cap on flight departures from London's Heathrow Airport will beextended until October 29, airport officials announced.Heathrow capped ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Months after the U.S. faced acute shortages of baby formula, this week two major U.S. ...
SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stocks were in the doldrums in Asia on Friday as investors weighed up potential Federal Reserve ...
LONDON, England: As surging food costs are further squeezing household budgets, inJuly consumer price inflation in the UK jumped to ...
NEW DELHI, India: After a decline in prices reaching a 2-year low encouraged investors to purchase silver in 2022, India's ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: The American hedge fund Third Point has purchased a stake worth some $1 billion in ...
NEW YORK, New York - Investors were divided on Thursday as to where to send U.S. stocks. Jitters about inflation, ...