Amazon's Q4 revenue takes a 300 bps hit due to Diwali timing, Japanese tax

Firms says large part of impact was felt as Diwali season moved more into third quarter, boosting Q3 sales at the cost of Q4

Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, said its December quarter (Q4) revenue took a hit as the Diwali festive season in India moved more into the third quarter. The other factor which affected sales was Japan’s consumption tax increasing from 8 per cent to 10 per cent.

“Those two items impacted the Q4 growth rate negatively by about 300 basis points,” said Brian T Olsavsky, senior vice-president and chief financial officer, during an earnings call on Thursday. “The Diwali timing, the Indian holiday, which has a very large swing factor on international revenues, moved more into the third quarter in 2019