Amazon shares pop on earnings beat, cloud growth

Amazon reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the third quarter, driven by growth in cloud computing and advertising businesses. The stock ticked higher in extended trading.

Here are the results.

• Earnings: $1.43 vs $1.14 per share expected by LSEG
• Revenue: $158.88 billion vs $157.2 billion expected by LSEG

Wall Street is also watching several other numbers in the report:

• Amazon Web Services: $27.4 billion vs. $27.5 billion expected, according to StreetAccount
• Advertising: $14.3 billion vs. $14.3 billion expected, according to StreetAccount

In cloud, Amazon Web Services revenue was in line with consensus estimates, but it's growing faster than the same period last year. Sales grew 19% year over year during the quarter, compared to a year ago, when sales accelerated just 12%.

Advertising was another bright spot in the report. Sales in the unit expanded 19% year over year to $14.3 billion during the quarter, outpacing growth in Amazon's core retail business.

Amazon forecast revenue in the current quarter to be between $181.5 billion and $188.5 billion, which would represent growth of 7% to 11% year over year. The midpoint of that range, $185 billion, fell short of the average analyst estimate of $186.2 billion, according to LSEG.

Amazon and Apple, which also reports quarterly results on Thursday, round out a busy week of earnings for the top tech companies. Alphabet on Tuesday reported better-than-expected results, driven by cloud growth. Microsoft issued disappointing guidance on Wednesday, leading to the stock's steepest selloff in two years, while Meta beat estimates but warned of significant acceleration in its infrastructure expenses next year.

This story is developing. Check back for updates.