Trending tickers: Amazon, AMD, GSK and Aston Martin

Aston Martin sales are worse than expected (REUTERS / Reuters)

Amazon (AMZN)

Amazon reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the first quarter, driven by growth in advertising and cloud computing.

The earnings sent shares of the retail giant up as much as 5% in pre-market trading.

Amazon posted profits of $10.4bn (£8.3bn) in the first three months of 2024, up from $3.2bn during the same period last year.

First-quarter sales increased 13% to $143.3bn, driven by strong retail sales in North America and rapid growth across Amazon Web Services (AWS), its digital infrastructure division. Net income more than tripled to $10.4bn in the first quarter.

Sales at AWS accelerated 17% in the first quarter to $25bn, topping Wall Street’s forecast for sales growth of 12% to $24.5bn.

CEO Andy Jassy told analysts that for Amazon "there is a big opportunity in front of us" in servicing AI customers.

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The company expects revenue of $144bn to $149bn for the current quarter ending June.

Mamta Valechha, equity research analyst at Quilter Cheviot, said: "The stock price reaction after hours was broadly flat. Amazon is a much-loved name with expectations increasing into results given strong performances from other cloud names such as Microsoft and Google. But nevertheless, we have a company producing record profits and using these profits to fund the next leg of growth."

AMD (AMD)

AMD reported first-quarter sales on Tuesday that were slightly ahead of Wall Street expectations, and provided an in-line forecast for the current quarter.

However, lighter-than-anticipated guidance for the current quarter sent the stock lower.

Shares in the chipmaker were down about 6% in pre-market trading on Wednesday.

AMD said it expects about $5.7bn in sales in the current quarter, in line with Wall Street estimates of the same approximate total. That would represent about 6% annual growth.

The chipmaker reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.62 on revenue of $5.5bn. Wall Street was looking for adjusted EPS of $0.61 on revenue of $5.45bn.

Net income came in at $123m, or 7 cents per share, versus a net loss of $139m, or 9 cents per share, during the year-earlier period. Revenue was up about 2% from a year earlier.

The company projected that its MI300 lineup – a family of so-called AI accelerators – will generate about $4bn in revenue this year. Though that’s up from an earlier prediction of $3.5bn, some investors were hoping for as much as $8bn, according to analysts.

GSK (GSK.L)

GSK has increased its annual profit forecast amid strong demand for its shingles and common respiratory virus vaccines.

The company now expects core profits, its preferred measure, to grow by 9% to 11%, compared with 7% to 10% in previous guidance, while sales for the current financial year are set to grow at the top end of a previously guided range of 5% to 7%.

It also attributed its increased forecast to a successful royalty dispute appeal for ovarian cancer drug Zejula in the first quarter.

The firm's total sales for the quarter came in at £7.4bn, up 10% from the same point a year ago. Total operating profit fell 18% to £1.49bn during the period.

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Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said strong growth in vaccine and speciality medicines drove the double digit rise in first-quarter sales and a second upgrade of the year.

"Prudent cost management has allowed underlying earnings to rise at a faster rate. But the one cost line GSK has been investing in is R&D. That’s pleasing to see given the clinical success emerging from the pipeline," he said.

Aston Martin (AML.L)

Aston Martin revealed sales dropped by more than a quarter at the start of the year.

Revenues at the luxury car maker dropped by 10% to £267.7m in the first three months of the year as it sold fewer vehicles, down 26% to 945.

Analysts had forecast revenues of £290.4m and sales of 1,159 units. Operating losses worsened by 15% to £58.7m.

Aston Martin, which has launched several new cars over the past year including its next generation sports cars the DB12 and Vantage, stopped production of old models ahead of the ramp up in production of fresh models later this year.

"Our first-quarter performance reflects this expected period of transition," chairman Lawrence Stroll said in a statement.

Shares fell as much as 14% in early trading to 128 pence, their lowest level since November 2022, but has since recovered slightly.

Watch: Amazon reports jump in Q1 sales, beats expectations

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