Amazon’s international arm is on track to swing to an annual profit as moves to streamline the retailer’s logistics operations bear fruit after years of losses. The $131bn unit, which serves Amazon’s customers outside North America, looks set to report an operating profit of $1.6bn this year, rising to more than $5bn next, according to analysts in a recent Refinitiv poll. Analysts at JPMorgan have gone further, with a forecast of $4.3bn in 2024.
Amazon’s growing advertising business and increased warehouse automation are also expected to help propel global ecommerce profits. The company does not break out the financials of each of its overseas markets, but has said that certain mature ones including the UK, Japan and some European countries are profitable. Amazon has come under investor pressure for more transparency in the disclosure of its international accounts and where and how much tax it pays overseas.