Amazon’s advertising business bucked industry trends, growing by 19 per cent year-on-year in Q4 2022 and generating more than AU$16 billion in sales.
However, that revenue represents less than 8 per cent of the company’s total revenue. Amazon’s advertising business has grown consistently over the last 12 months with its diverse range of solutions, ranging from sponsored product listings on Amazon.com to adverts in its Prime Video streaming service.
Despite that growth, Amazon’s executives are not completely bullish on the ad market.
“Consistent with our expectations, Q4 revenue remained under pressure from weak advertising demand, which we believe continues to be impacted by the uncertain and volatile macroeconomic landscape,” said CFO Susan Li during an earnings call with analysts.
By contrast, Google parent company Alphabet’s advertising revenue dropped by more than AU$3 billion in the last quarter. As a result, Amazon now holds around 7.3 per cent of the overall online ad market. Alphabet, Facebook, and Instagram control 28.8 per cent, 11.4 per cent, and 9.1 per cent, respectively.
The company’s overall financial information showed a promising picture, as well. It generated AU$210 billion in revenue, beating analyst expectations that predicted sales of around $204 billion. Its Web Services business saw sales grow by a fifth, though this was lower than analyst expectations.
