SHARE OF THE WEEK: Amazon set to announce its fourth-quarter results

Amazon’s luck could go from bad to worse next week, as it gears up to announce its fourth-quarter results.

High inflation and a shaky economic outlook meant retail sales were lower than expected in its last quarterly results, and concerns are very much the same as it announces figures for the three months ended December 31.

Although analysts expect a higher quarterly revenue of £117billion following Prime Day and Christmas sales, growth is expected to be slower than previous years.

The e-commerce giant has already gone on the defensive, announcing that it would be slashing its headcount by 18,000 in a bid to cut costs.

Andy Jassy, chief executive, said in the note earlier this month that annual planning ‘has been more difficult given the uncertain economy and that we’ve hired rapidly over the last several years’.

The company is also shutting some Amazon Fresh stores in the UK, shifting focus back on the core business of ecommerce and cloud.

Sophie Lund-Yates, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that Amazon continues to deal with unhelpful headwinds.

These include rising costs and tightening consumer spend, she said.

Lund-Yates added: ‘It will be important to keep an eye on the outlook statement where demand is concerned. With inklings that interest rate hikes could start to slow, there’s a chance of some positivity coming through.’