Amazon has released its first quarterly report announcing the most profitable quarter in their 22 year tenure.
The quarter ended March 31, and Amazon reported their net income at $513 million, with $1.07 per share. Just a year ago, they reported a loss of $57 million, and just 12 cents a share.
Additionally the company’s revenue grew to $29.72 billion, up from $22.77 billion this time last year.
These profits can be attributed to Amazon Web Services, a decade old cloud computing business just now picking up steam.
On its way to bringing in $10 billion per year in revenue, this service is the most popular choice for businesses looking to rent their computing capacity rather than implementing their own software. Employers chose to use cloud computing because of its ability to easily automate tasks that can cut production costs.
The profits generated by Amazon Web Services denote 56% of Amazon’s total operating income. This is up 64% from last year and was only 9% of the total company revenue.
Big businesses aren’t the only ones that are profiting from cloud computing technology. Forbes magazine reports that soon four out of five small businesses will soon rely on cloud computing because of its efficiency, accessibility, and cost-effectiveness.
In addition to cloud computing, Amazon’s CEO highlights the performance of hardware devices as a thriving area of investment. Items like the Kindle Fire series and Echo intelligent speakers have been flying off the shelves, and the company struggles to keep them in stock.
On a conference call with The New York Times, Brian Olsavsky, Amazon’s CFO, said, “The company continues to make hefty long-term investments for initiatives.”
These initiatives are working, just a year ago Amazon reached $100 billion in sales. They are projected to surpass $385 million in 2016.
