PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
It’s official: the technology sector is booming. A number of the industry’s key players have reported quarterly profit rises, with the likes of Google, Amazon and Microsoft all seeing their financials heading north. Google’s parent Alphabet saw profits of $5.4 billion, a 28% year-on-year increase. Boosted by mobile phone sales and an ever-increasing demand for YouTube, the company continues to go from strength-to-strength.
Meanwhile Amazon’s profits grew by 40%, recording a $724 million gain and recording its eighth positive quarter in a row. Sales in web services and subscriptions to its Prime service boosted its financials as well as expansion in India, Mexico and the UK. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has now been named as the third richest person in the world, with a net worth of more than $80 billion.
"Although Amazon’s sales advanced by a respectable 23% over the quarter, the pace of growth at the online behemoth remains much slower than it was over most of the prior fiscal year," said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail.
"Some of this is the result of a less favourable exchange rate diluting contributions from the international business. However, some is also down to a more challenging demand environment in North America, which has limited spending uplifts on products within Amazon’s core territory."
Microsoft also had a strong quarter, with profits up 28%, due to sales in cloud computing products such as its Azure. The firm was also boosted from a rise in financials at LinkedIn, which is bought for $26 billion last June.
Meanwhile chipmaker Intel’s profits rose 45% to $2.9 billion thanks to increased sales in its memory products, with revenue up 8%.
