KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 (Bernama) -- Bursa Malaysia rebounded to close higher on Wednesday on selective buying of defensive stocks after a volatile trading session. IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said consumer products and services stocks lifted the key index higher, overcoming lingering geopolitical concerns. At 5 pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 3.08 points to 1,715.56 from yesterday’s close of 1,712.48. The benchmark index, which opened 1.91 points higher at 1,714.39, moved between 1,710.79 and 1,720.59 during the day’s trading. In the broader market, gainers outstripped decliners 550 to 476, while 612 counters were unchanged, 1,129 untraded, and 48 suspended. Turnover rose to 2.96 billion units valued at RM2.48 billion from 2.94 billion units valued at RM2.56 billion on Tuesday.
Amazon reported stronger-than-expected Q2 revenue but disappointed investors with weak AWS growth and soft guidance, triggering a post-market sell-off of over 6%.
Key Financials:
Revenue: $167.7B (+13% YoY) vs. $162.15B est.
Operating Profit: $19.2B vs. $17B est.
Net Profit: $18.2B vs. $13.5B YoY
EPS: $1.68 vs. $1.33 est.
Free Cash Flow: $18.18B (down sharply from $52.97B YoY)
AWS Segment: Mediocre Growth
AWS revenue rose 17.5% YoY, only slightly above expectations and marking six straight quarters without meaningful acceleration. Operating margin contracted 2.6% YoY, with AWS profits nearly 7% below forecasts due to a surge in R&D expenses (+22% YoY). The result highlights AWS’s struggle to keep pace with Microsoft Azure’s strong growth trajectory.
Retail & Ads: Bright Spot
Retail revenue grew 12% YoY, accelerating from 7% in Q1, with strong contributions from advertising (+23% YoY), which drove most of the segment’s profitability. Both North America and international regions posted similar performances.
Guidance:
Q3 Revenue: $174B–$179.5B (midpoint slightly above est.)
Q3 Operating Profit: $15.5B–$20.5B (midpoint below $19.4B est.)
Implied Margin: 10.2% (down from Q2’s 11.4%)
Takeaway:
Amazon’s retail and advertising segments performed better than feared, but AWS’s lackluster growth and margin compression weighed heavily. With AI investments yet to show returns and cloud competition intensifying, AWS’s trajectory remains the key focus for investors. The stock’s current PE of 38.1 sits at the 51st percentile of its 5-year range, reflecting uncertainty over growth sustainability.
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