Amazon's Ad Business Is Firing on All Cylinders
Pinterest (NYSE: PINS) dropped more bad news for the advertising industry on Monday. The search social media company announced worse-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue and guided for first-quarter revenue to increase at a rate in the low single digits. This adds to similarly underwhelming fourth-quarter results from digital advertising peers Meta Platforms, Alphabet, and Snap.
But there's been at least one bright spot in the advertising industry this earnings season so far: Amazon's (NASDAQ: AMZN) advertising business posted strong, double-digit year-over-year growth. This suggests some marketers may still be spending a pretty penny on ads but are doing so in areas where there's more evidence of measured results. The double-digit growth in Amazon's advertising business amid macroeconomic uncertainty is a testament to its value proposition to marketers. After all, companies likely want to do everything they can in uncertain macroeconomic environments to ensure their ad spend is measured and effective.
Amazon's overall sales during Q4 were solid, rising 9% year over year to $149.2 billion. But not all segments saw nice growth. Indeed, the company's online stores segment, which accounts for more than 40% of overall revenue, saw sales decline 2% year over year. But sales did rise 2% after adjusting for currency headwinds.
Source Fool.com