What Amazon's Earnings Mean for Mutual Fund Investors (AMZN)

After the closing bell on Thursday, Amazon (AMZN) released its fourth quarter financial results. Here’s what the report means for mutual fund investors.

Earnings

The company reported net income of $214 million, or 45 cents per share, down from $239 million, or 51 cents per share, last year. On average, analysts expected to see EPS of 17 cents.

Revenue
Sales rose 15% to $29.33 billion from $25.59 billion a year ago. Analysts expected to see revenue of $29.67 billion.

Outlook
Looking ahead to the first quarter, Amazon said that it expects revenue to be between $20.9 billion and $22.9 billion. Analysts expect to see $23.05 billion in revenue.

Amazon has been successful at growing its Prime member subscriptions, and according to the company, Prime members make more purchases on average than non-Prime members (Prime members spend an average of $1,500, while non-members spend an average of $625). Amazon also reported that it has seen growth in its Web Services business. Last year, Amazon brought in $4.5 billion in revenue from its Web Services business.

Although the company posted a positive quarter, investors interested in Amazon need to be prepared for extreme moves in future earnings reports. Investors should also realize that Amazon will be diving into new areas of business, which could result in quarterly losses.

Investors interested in Amazon may be interested in the funds listed below. These funds currently have the largest stakes in the company.

The funds listed above allow investors to gain exposure to Amazon while remaining diversified. Investors interested in AMZN may also be interested in eBay (EBAY) and Google (GOOG).