1 thing the market got wrong in Amazon's earnings report

The company doesn't have a growth problem — it has a demand problem.

| More on:
An amazon worker packaging up a delivery in a factory

Image source: Amazon

You’re reading a free article with opinions that may differ from The Motley Fool’s Premium Investing Services. Become a Motley Fool member today to get instant access to our top analyst recommendations, in-depth research, investing resources, and more. Learn More

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Amazon's (NASDAQ: AMZN) latest earnings results were enough to beat analysts' expectations, but the stock fell after management issued lower-than-expected guidance for the third quarter. After reviewing management's comments on the earnings call, it appears this is another case of the market missing the forest for the trees.

As of this writing, the stock is down 6.5% since the earnings report, but strong demand from new Prime customers is causing Amazon to spend aggressively to support growth. The e-commerce giant's record of generating high returns on capital should give investors a good reason to pick up some shares during this pullback.

Watch for another revenue acceleration

Amazon posted revenue growth of 27% year over year in the second quarter, or 24% adjusted for currency fluctuations. That's a sharp deceleration from the first quarter's 41% currency-adjusted growth. But the biggest problem for investors was management's third-quarter guidance, which calls for year-over-year revenue growth to further decelerate to between 10% and 16%.

As a result, many have overlooked the increased capital spending. When Amazon has increased such investments in the past, it usually results in an acceleration in revenue growth soon after.

For the trailing 12 months ended June 30, capital expenditures totaled $47.2 billion, up 144% from the year-ago period.

This spending is going toward a number of internal projects, but most importantly, Amazon is expanding its fulfillment capacity as CFO Brian Olsavsky explained during the earnings call, "This is all part of a multiyear investment cycle for us. Unit volumes, while obviously growing at lower rates off last year's large comp, continue to remain high, and we see strong demand for [fulfilled by Amazon] and third-party sellers."

Olsavsky also mentioned the investments are going toward building out the last-mile and middle-mile delivery capabilities of Amazon's transportation network to support fast-shipping offers for customers.

The pandemic has presented Amazon with an excess demand problem. With 50 million new Prime members added during the pandemic, Amazon is having to quickly ramp up spending to support its much larger customer base.

Last year, Amazon saw a notable acceleration in revenue growth from the first to the second quarter, partially thanks to its addition of greater fullfillment capacity and hundreds of thousands of employees. "This allowed our revenue growth rate to jump to the 35% to 45% range and remained at that level through Q1 of this year when we had 41% growth," Olsavsky said during the recent earnings call.

While investors shouldn't expect Amazon to deliver 40% growth rates again, the company could see a return to levels of 20% or more in 2022.

A new investment cycle can drive big returns

Amazon's track record of fueling revenue growth after stepping up its capital spending goes back several years.

Between 2009 and 2011, capital expenditures increased from $373 million to $1.81 billion, or an increase of 386%. Over that same period, Amazon revenue grew 96%, speeding up from the 65% growth it recorded from 2007 to 2009.

AMZN Revenue (Quarterly) Chart

Data by YCharts.

In 2011, Amazon said the increase in capital spending was to drive continued business growth, Amazon Web Services, and additional capacity to support fulfillment operations. You could take that statement from 10 years ago and plug it into the latest earnings call. Those are the same key areas the company continues to invest in going forward.

Given Amazon's record of driving high returns on incremental capital spending, investors should consider adding shares of this leading growth stock during the post-earnings decline.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

John Ballard owns shares of Amazon. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long January 2022 $1,920 calls on Amazon and short January 2022 $1,940 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

More on International Stock News

A man looking at his laptop and thinking.
International Stock News

Why Alphabet stock was sliding today

Let's take a look.

Read more »

A man looking at his laptop and thinking.
International Stock News

Nvidia's stock was down despite its amazing earnings. Here's what history says is coming next

Although it might seem to defy logic, it's not an uncommon phenomenon.

Read more »

A woman holds a soldering tool as she sits in front of a computer screen while working on the manufacturing of technology equipment in a laboratory environment.
International Stock News

Nvidia share price slips despite 94% revenue growth

Q3 earnings beat expectations, but what about guidance?

Read more »

high, climbing, record high
International Stock News

Could the S&P 500 Index hit 6,500 by the end of 2025?

Could the index climb higher?

Read more »

a small child holds his chin with his head on the side in a serious thinking pose against a background of graphic question marks and a yellow lightbulb.
International Stock News

Is it too late to buy Nvidia shares?

Is Nvidia stock a buy ahead of its third-quarter earnings report tomorrow?

Read more »

a group of people stand examining a large glowing cystral ball held in the hands of one of the group members while the others regard it with various expressions of wonder, curiousity and scepticism.
International Stock News

Here's what to expect from Nvidia on November 20

Can Nvidia score another win?

Read more »

Two people lazing in deck chairs on a beautiful sandy beach through their hands up in the air.
International Stock News

2 no-brainer Warren Buffett stocks to buy right now

While replicating Buffett's success isn't possible, there are a handful of his investments that are no-brainer buys.

Read more »

A man with a beard and wearing dark sunglasses and a beanie head covering raises a fist in happy celebration as he sits at is computer in a home environment.
International Stock News

3 reasons to buy Nvidia stock before November 20

This week marks a big moment for tech investors as perhaps the most anticipated earnings of the year will be…

Read more »