What: Amazon reported USD 127.4 billion in revenue and USD 3.2 billion in income for the first quarter, pushing shares up 10%.

Why it is important: The retailer’s cost-cutting is paying off as its first quarter results beat analysts’ estimates.

While revenue increasing by 9% compared to last year may be a sign that the company is on track for a strong comeback, it doesn’t make up for the growth that the e-tail giant is used to seeing as it reported a net loss of USD 3.8 billion in the first quarter of 2022.

Analysts estimated a revenue of USD 124.55 billion in revenue and earnings of 21 cents.

Amazon Web Services saw slow growth, reporting 16% growth for a total of USD 21.4 billion.

Machine learning investments are also driving growth in Amazon’s ad business, which saw revenue increase by 23% to USD 9.51 billion. With the application of AI, customers are seeing relevant information when they engage with the retailer, resulting in strong results for brands.

The retailer is continuing to lay off thousands of workers to improve its bottom line, with a total of 27,000 layoffs since January.

Amazon’s cost cutting-fueled comeback is underway