Amazon’s Q1 ad revenue soars 19% to $13.92 bn, driven by Prime Video, E-commerce strength

New Delhi: Amazon.com, Inc. reported a 19% year-over-year increase in advertising revenue for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, reaching $13.92 billion, according to its earnings release on May 1. 

The figure surpassed Wall Street expectations of $13.74 billion, fueled by the continued expansion of ads on Prime Video and strong demand for sponsored ads within its e-commerce ecosystem.

The growth in ad revenue, which now accounts for nearly 9% of Amazon’s total sales, underscores the company’s emergence as a dominant player in the global digital advertising market, trailing only Meta and Google. 

Amazon’s strategic move to introduce ads by default on Prime Video in early 2024 has proven a significant catalyst. CEO Andy Jassy noted on the earnings call that streaming TV advertising is “growing quickly and off to a strong start,” with Prime Video reaching over 200 million monthly viewers.

“Advertisers are excited about the opportunity to reach our audience through Prime Video’s premium content,” Jassy said, highlighting shows like Fallout, which drew 65 million viewers in its first 16 days, and Road House, Amazon MGM Studios’ biggest film debut ever, with over 50 million viewers in two weekends. The platform’s exclusive NFL “Thursday Night Football” broadcasts and an upcoming NFL Wild Card playoff game in January 2025 further bolster its ad inventory.

Beyond streaming, Amazon’s advertising business thrives on its e-commerce platform, where sponsored ads, display ads, and video ads drive revenue from sellers, vendors, and publishers. 

Total Q1 revenue reached $155.67 billion, up 9% year-over-year, beating analyst estimates of $155.15 billion. Net income climbed 62% to $17.1 billion, with earnings per share of $1.59, topping expectations of $1.36. Amazon Web Services (AWS) contributed $29.27 billion in sales, up 17%, though it slightly missed estimates of $29.36 billion due to chip supply constraints.