Amazon’s revenue grows 9% in 2022

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Feb 3, 2023

In fiscal 2022, the Amazon group generated a revenue of $514 billion (€474 billion), equivalent to a 9% increase and a 13% one at constant exchange rates. However, the group’s operating income slumped, falling from $24.9 billion in 2021 to $12.2 billion in 2022.

Amazon has reported these figures in conjunction with the publication of its Q4 results, while the group’s consolidated annual results are set to be published in spring. Amazon’s 2022 revenue figures include the group’s e-tail business and also its data hosting business, which produced sales worth $80.1 billion (up by 29%) and $22.8 billion in operating income in the course of the year.

In terms of e-tail alone, North America remained the group’s main market, with $315.9 billion in sales (up by 13%) and an operating income of $2.8 billion. Outside North America, the group generated $7.7 billion in operating income from $118 billion in sales (equivalent to an 8% increase).

As usual, Amazon did not give details about the results of the various product categories sold on its marketplace, via its own and third-party brands. However, for the last 10 years or so the US group has maintained that fashion is one of its main revenue sources, alongside consumer electronics. The Wells Fargo financial group has estimated that Amazon’s US apparel and footwear revenue is worth close to $70 billion, making Amazon the country’s largest fashion retailer. In Europe, only German e-tailer Zalando is ahead of Amazon in terms of cross-border online fashion sales.

“In the short term, we face an uncertain economy, but we remain quite optimistic about the long-term opportunities for Amazon,” said the group’s CEO Andy Jassy. “The vast majority of total market segment share in both Global Retail and IT still reside in physical stores and on-premises data centers. And as this equation steadily flips, we believe our leading customer experiences in these areas along with the results of our continued hard work and invention to improve every day, will lead to significant growth in the coming years,” added Jassy.

The group is aiming to gain market share relative to physical retail, and in the meantime, in 2022 it intensified its marketing spending, increasing it from $32.5 million to $42.2 million in a year. In the same period, Amazon’s fulfilment business grew from $75.1 million to $84.3 million.

To boost its fulfilment capabilities, last year Amazon deployed Sparrow, a robotic system capable of picking products from warehouse shelves. Also last year, the group’s warehouse in Seville, Spain, has become Amazon’s largest solar farm, equipped with 13,300 photovoltaic panels generating 6 million kilowatt hours per year. A notable initiative, given the backdrop of soaring energy costs in Europe.

For Q1 2023, Amazon is forecasting a revenue ranging from $121 billion to $126 billion, equivalent to an increase of between 4% and 8%. Operating income is expected to be between $0 and $4.0 billion. A guidance that is negatively influenced by inflation and which, as reported today by FashionNetwork.com, has disappointed investors.