Instant View: Amazon sustains growth, revenue up 22 percent

Amazon.com Inc kept up a strong pace of growth in core retail and newer businesses like digital media, posting a 22 percent jump in revenue to $16.1 billion in the first quarter, while its earnings beat expectations.

Commentary:

KERRY RICE, ANALYST, NEEDHAM & CO

"Gross margin is definitely better than expected. That is something that investors are certainly keen on.

"Guidance was light, both top- and bottom-line. That certainly won't help the stock perform, although they have over the last several quarters exceeded expectations on the operating income side. So for the guidance, people are more concerned about revenue than operating income."

(Reporting By Malathi Nayak and Poornima Gupta)