Amazon’s AI Bets and Cost-Cutting Measures Pay Off, Boosting Stock by 5%

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

November 1, 2024

Shares of Amazon surged over 5% in after-hours trading on Thursday after the company reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings. Amazon announced earnings per share of $1.43, alongside revenue reaching $158.9 billion, surpassing analyst projections of $1.14 per share and $157.2 billion in revenue, according to FactSet.

Key Financial Highlights

North American Sales: Amazon’s North American segment recorded a 9% year-over-year sales increase, totalling $95.5 billion.
AWS Growth: Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company’s cloud unit, posted $27.5 billion in revenue, marking a 19% rise compared to the same period last year.
Stock Movement: Although Amazon’s stock initially fell over 3% on Thursday before earnings were released, it rebounded significantly in after-hours trading. So far, Amazon shares are up almost 24% year-to-date.

Background on Amazon’s Strategy

Amazon’s recent efforts include major cost-cutting moves, guided by CEO Andy Jassy, to streamline operations since 2022. This restructuring has led to over 27,000 layoffs and the closure of initiatives such as Amazon’s telehealth and same-day delivery services. Despite these reductions, Amazon is doubling down on other key areas, like a $52 billion investment in nuclear energy to support data centers in Virginia, Mississippi, and Ohio. The company is also moving forward with **Project Kuiper**, aiming to build a satellite network of 3,236 units to broaden internet access worldwide—a venture projected to involve over $10 billion in launch costs across five years, according to analysts from Wedbush Securities.

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Amazon’s Market Reach

July’s Prime Day achieved “record-breaking sales,” while the introduction of Amazon’s AI-powered shopping assistant, **Rufus** was rolled out to U.S. customers last month. Notably, Amazon had slightly missed expectations in the previous quarter and cautioned that intense news cycles could distract customers—a factor cited by CFO Brian Olsavsky during the second-quarter earnings call. Despite these challenges, the company’s annual revenue is expected to remain strong.

Noteworthy Figures

Amazon’s market capitalization has reached $1.96 trillion, making it the fifth-largest company globally, trailing behind Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, and Google. Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos, who served as Amazon’s CEO until 2021, holds a net worth of $204.1 billion, much of which is tied to Amazon’s stock. Market fluctuations ahead of Amazon’s earnings report momentarily decreased Bezos’ wealth by around $6 billion. Bezos ranks as the second-richest American, after Elon Musk, on the Forbes 400 list.

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Cyprus GDP Growth Accelerates To 3.3% In Q2 2026 As Employment Rises

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

September 9, 2026

Cyprus’ seasonally adjusted GDP grew 0.8% in the second quarter of 2026 from the previous quarter, while employment increased 0.5%, according to Eurostat data.

Compared with the second quarter of 2025, GDP rose 3.3% and employment increased 1.6%. Quarterly economic growth accelerated from 0.5% in the first quarter.

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Cyprus Growth Picks Up In Second Quarter

The 0.8% quarterly expansion followed growth of 1.2% in the fourth quarter of 2025 and 0.8% in the third quarter. Annual growth also accelerated to 3.3% from 3% in the first quarter, after reaching 4.2% in the fourth quarter and 3.5% in the third quarter of 2025.

Employment growth resumed after remaining unchanged in the first quarter. The 0.5% quarterly increase followed gains of 0.7% in the fourth quarter and 0.5% in the third quarter of 2025.

Annual employment growth slowed to 1.6% in the second quarter from 2% in both the first quarter of 2026 and the fourth quarter of 2025. Growth stood at 1.4% in the third quarter of 2025.

EU Growth Strengthens

Across the EU, GDP increased 0.7% in the second quarter from the previous quarter, while euro area output rose 0.6%. Both figures marked a sharp acceleration from the first quarter, when EU GDP grew 0.1% and euro area GDP was unchanged.

Year on year, GDP increased 1.4% in the EU and 1.2% in the euro area, up from 0.9% and 0.6%, respectively, in the previous quarter.

Ireland recorded the strongest quarterly growth at 10.2%, followed by Slovenia at 1.8% and Lithuania at 1.7%. Austria was the only member state to record a contraction, with GDP falling 0.1%.

Consumption And Trade Support Growth

Household consumption contributed 0.2 percentage points to quarterly growth in both the euro area and the EU. Net exports added 0.9 percentage points in the euro area and 0.8 points in the EU.

Inventory changes reduced growth by 0.5 percentage points in both regions. Gross fixed capital formation had little impact in the euro area and added 0.1 percentage points in the EU.

Employment increased 0.1% quarter on quarter in both the euro area and the EU. Annual employment growth reached 0.5% in the euro area and 0.4% in the EU, with 221.4 million people employed across the EU and 176.4 million in the euro area.

Hours worked increased 0.1% in both regions from the previous quarter. Compared with a year earlier, hours worked rose 0.7% in the euro area and 0.8% in the EU.

Employment Trends Vary Across Europe

Portugal recorded the strongest quarterly employment growth at 1%, followed by the Czech Republic and Malta at 0.9% each. Finland saw the largest decline, at 0.8%, followed by Greece at 0.4%.

In the United States, GDP increased 0.4% from the previous quarter and 2.1% year on year.

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