By Oluwaseyi Lawal

Amazon’s third-quarter earnings has surpassed expectations with strong results across its key sectors. It’s net sales increased by 11%, reaching $158.9 billion, up from $143.1 billion in the same quarter last year.

This growth included a notable 19% rise in advertising revenue, reaching $14.3 billion, beating projections. Despite concerns over potential slowing in AWS, Amazon’s cloud division saw a 19% year-over-year revenue growth to $27.5 billion, with profit margins exceeding forecasts. North American sales also rose by 9%, totaling $95.5 billion. Net income jumped 55% to $15.3 billion from $9.9 billion last year.

Along with exceeding projections, Amazon shared an optimistic outlook for the upcoming quarter, forecasting sales growth of 7% to 11%, between $181.5 billion and $188.5 billion, and expects operating income to range between $16 billion and $20 billion.

As usual, Amazon’s earnings announcement spotlighted recent developments, such as its new fuel savings offer for Prime members and the expansion of Amazon Pharmacy’s Same-Day Delivery to cover almost half of the U.S.

The company also showcased advancements in AI, including personalized shopping guides and a seller-assisting AI tool. For advertisers, Amazon introduced enhanced AI-driven video generation and real-time image features.

On the entertainment side, Amazon highlighted the second season of *The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power*, marking the most-watched returning season on Prime Video. It also set a new streaming record for Thursday Night Football with the Cowboys-Giants game as the most-streamed NFL regular-season match, while upcoming election coverage featuring Brian Williams was also mentioned.

These results counter claims of flattening e-commerce margins, with ad sales surpassing expectations by 2%. Management remains optimistic about continued growth in the ad sales sector.