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Andy Jassy, CEO Amazon Web Services, speaks at the WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, California, October 25, 2016.

Mike Blake | Reuters

Amazon reported third-quarter earnings and revenue on Thursday that sailed past analysts’ estimates. The stock initially popped in extended trading, but then gave up most of its gains.

Here are the results:

  • Earnings per share: 94 cents per share vs. 58 cents per share expected by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv.
  • Revenue: $143.1 billion vs. $141.4 billion expected by LSEG.

Investors are also following these segment numbers:

  • Amazon Web Services: $23.1 billion vs. $23.2 billion in expected revenue, according to StreetAccount
  • Advertising: $12.1 billion vs. $11.6 billion in expected revenue, according to StreetAccount

Amazon said fourth-quarter sales, which include the key holiday period, will be between $160 billion and $167 billion. Analysts were expecting revenue of $166.6 billion, according to LSEG. At the mid-point of its guidance range, revenue of $163.5 billion would represent growth of 9.6% from $149.2 billion a year earlier.

Revenue climbed 13% in the third quarter, a sign that the business is seeing some acceleration after a difficult 2022 that was marred by soaring inflation and rising interest rates.

Amazon has been in cost-cutting mode for the past year as it became clear that it expanded too quickly during the pandemic. The company has laid off 27,000 employees since last fall, and it’s axed some of its more unprofitable bets.

CEO Andy Jassy, who succeeded founder Jeff Bezos at the helm in mid-2021, said those belt-tightening efforts continue to bear fruit.

“We had a strong third quarter as our cost to serve and speed of delivery in our Stores business took another step forward, our AWS growth continued to stabilize, our Advertising revenue grew robustly, and overall operating income and free cash flow rose significantly,” Jassy said in a statement.

Sales in Amazon’s core e-commerce business continued to recover, expanding 7% year over year, after growing 4% in the previous quarter. The September quarter includes the results of this year’s Prime Day promotion, which took place in July. Amazon described it as its “biggest ever” sale.

Net income more than tripled to $9.9 billion, or 94 cents a share, from $2.9 billion, or 28 cents a share, a year earlier. Net income for the quarter includes pre-tax valuation gain of $1.2 billion from the company’s investment in electric car company Rivian.

Amazon’s results follow better-than-expected numbers from Alphabet and Meta earlier this week. However, shares of both of those companies fell after their earnings reports. Alphabet investors were concerned about disappointing revenue in the Google Cloud division, while Meta’s selloff resulted from cautionary comments regarding the ad market in light of the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Amazon shares fell more than 6% over the past two trading days, as the response to Alphabet and Meta’s numbers hit their mega-cap tech peers.

Digital advertising continues to be a bright spot for Amazon, as third-party sellers and large brands bolster their ad spending to improve visibility in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Ad revenue increased 26% from a year earlier. That’s much faster than Google’s ad growth, which was 9%, and topped Facebook’s ad growth of 23%. Snap said revenue rose just 5%.

In cloud, however, Amazon appears to be giving up some market share. Amazon Web Services, which leads Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, showed growth in the quarter of 12%. Microsoft earlier this week said Azure revenue jumped 29%, and Google Cloud expanded by 22%.

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Bitcoin hits over 3-month low, reversing gains post Trump election

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Bitcoin hits over 3-month low, reversing gains post Trump election

Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images

A week-long rout in Bitcoin worsened Friday, with the digital asset hitting an over 3-month low, reversing gains that followed the election of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Bitcoin was trading at about $80,500 in early trading in Asia, down 3.45% on the day and nearly 25% lower than an all-time high hit in mid December.

Bitcoin had enjoyed a surge in prices following Trump’s victory in November, with the leader having posed himself as a pro-crypto candidate during his campaign.

However, prices have slipped as investors shun assets perceived to be risky given the weakness in global equity markets, uncertainty surrounding the new President’s tariff policy and resolutions to major wars such as Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Gaza.

Investor sentiment was also soured by news that Bybit, a major cryptocurrency exchange, suffered a $1.5 billion hack in what’s estimated to be the largest crypto heist in history.

“It seems that the market has become volatile in reaction to the Bybit incident,” Jeff Mei, chief operating officer at crypto exchange BTSE said in a statement sent to CNBC, adding that inflation concerns and a pause in Fed rate cuts in the U.S. have also suppressed markets.

Still, some crypto bulls remain positive on Bitcoin’s outlook as they await key regulatory developments from the Trump administration.

Already, Trump has signed an executive order promoting the advancement of cryptocurrencies in the U.S. and developing a national digital asset stockpile. Meanwhile, his administration has created task forces and a “crypto czar” tasked with supporting a clear regulatory framework for crypto assets.

Bitcoin to hit $500,000 before Trump leaves office, Standard Chartered says

Geoffrey Kendrick, head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered, said in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Thursday that bitcoin could surpass the $200,000 threshold this year.

Increased crypto adoption by institutions along with some “regulatory clarity” in the U.S., should lead to less volatility over time, he said.

—CNBC’s Ryan Browne contributed to this report

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House Judiciary Committee subpoenas Alphabet, Meta, other tech giants over ‘foreign censorship’ of speech

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House Judiciary Committee subpoenas Alphabet, Meta, other tech giants over 'foreign censorship' of speech

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) is interviewed by FOX and Friends at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 3, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images

House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, sent subpoenas to eight technology companies asking for more information about their communications with foreign governments over concerns that they seek to “censor speech” in the U.S.

The subpoenas were sent Wednesday to the CEOs of Google parent Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and TikTok, as well as X and video platform Rumble.

“The Committee must understand how and to what extent foreign governments have limited Americans’ access to lawful speech in the United States, as well as the extent to which the Biden-Harris Administration aided or abetted these efforts,” Jordan said in a statement.

CNBC reached out to each of the subpoenaed companies for comment. A spokesperson for Microsoft said the company is engaged with the panel and “committed to working in good faith.”

A Rumble spokesperson said it “has received the subpoena and we look forward to sharing information related to the ongoing efforts of numerous governments around the globe who seek to suppress the innate human right to self expression.”

Jordan pointed to the European Union’s Digital Services Act, a similar set of laws in the U.K., called the Online Services Act, and regulations around illegal content and hate speech in Brazil and Australia.

The committee is seeking communications around the companies’ compliance with “foreign censorship laws, regulations, judicial orders or other government-initiated efforts” and any internal correspondence discussing those matters.

The subpoenas come after the Federal Trade Commission last week launched an inquiry into “tech censorship.” FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson said in a statement that the probe will help the agency “better understand how these firms may have violated the law by silencing and intimidating Americans for speaking their minds.”

The FTC’s request for public comment defines tech platforms as companies that provide a range of services, from social media and video sharing to event planning and ride sharing.

The Republican-led committee has previously accused major tech companies of censorship. The panel subpoenaed Alphabet, Meta and other firms in 2023, demanding they turn over communications between the companies and the U.S. government over censorship concerns.

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Autodesk says it will cut 1,350 employees, or 9% of workforce, to make the most of sales changes

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Autodesk says it will cut 1,350 employees, or 9% of workforce, to make the most of sales changes

Andrew Anagnost, chief executive officer of Autodesk Inc., during a Bloomberg Television interview in London, UK, on April 25, 2023.

Chris Ratcliffe | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Design software maker Autodesk said Thursday that it will lay off 1,350 employees, which works out to 9% of its workforce.

The job cuts follow a series of large headcount reductions across the tech industry.

In January, Meta said it would let go of 5% of its workers, and earlier this month Workday, which sells human resources and finance software, announced an 8.5% decrease. Google this week also announced cuts to its human relations and cloud divisions, CNBC reported, and PC maker HP said in a Thursday regulatory filing that it would reduce its headcount by 1,000 or 2,000, representing under 4% of total headcount.

“Our GTM model has evolved significantly from the transition to subscription and multi-year contracts billed annually to self-service enablement, the adoption of direct billing, and more,” Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost wrote in a memo to employees. “These changes position us to better meet the evolving needs of our customers and channel partners. To fully benefit from these changes, we are beginning the transformation of our GTM organization to increase customer satisfaction and Autodesk’s productivity.”

The company is also conducting the layoffs to stay competitive in the current economy and protect the company’s leadership in cloud computing and artificial intelligence, Anagnost wrote.

San Francisco-based Autodesk will make facility reductions as well. But it will not close any offices, a spokesperson told CNBC in an email. It expects $135 million to $150 million in restructuring costs before taxes.

The company on Thursday also announced better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results. The company delivered $2.29 in adjusted earnings per share on $1.64 billion in revenue, which was up 12% year over year. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had been looking for $2.14 per share and $1.63 billion in revenue.

For the fiscal first quarter, Autodesk called for $2.14 to $2.17 in adjusted earnings per share on $1.600 billion to $1.610 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by LSEG had expected $2.08 per share and $1.598 billion in revenue.

Management sees $9.34 to $9.67 in adjusted earnings per share for the 2026 fiscal year, with $6.895 billion to $6.965 billion in revenue. The LSEG consensus was $9.24 per share and $6.902 billion in revenue.

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