Amazon 4Q earnings preview: Analyst commentary leading up to report - Business Insider

Amazon is set to report its fourth-quarter earnings after the market closes on Thursday.The report stands to reverse some of the negative sentiment sourced from its last earnings release, which saw profits fall below Wall Street expectations.Analysts are focusing on Amazon Web Services stabilization, Prime one-day shipping payoff, and strong holiday sales trends as key factors for an earnings beat.Here's what three banks are talking about ahead of Amazon's report.Watch Amazon trade live here.Amazon will report its fourth-quarter earnings after market close on Thursday.

Wall Street expects the e-commerce giant to report about $86.2 billion in revenue and adjusted earnings-per-share of $7.02, according to Bloomberg data. The company reported about $72.4 billion in revenue and adjusted EPS of $8.28 for the fourth quarter of 2018.Amazon's report stands to reverse some of negative sentiment born from its last quarterly release. The company tanked as much as 8.6% in after-hours trading after beating analyst estimates for revenue but missing profit expectations. The company is also set to provide an update on its one-day shipping initiative for Prime members. Amazon announced in 2019 that the service's rollout was costing more than expected, and analysts are sure to seek additional detail on the effort and whether the investment is paying off.The fourth-quarter figures will include revenue from 2019's unusually short holiday season. Though the brief Thanksgiving-to-Christmas period threatened to suppress sales, total holiday revenue grew 3.4% year-over-year with online sales soaring 18.8%, according to a late December Mastercard report.E-commerce sales accounted for nearly 15% of all holiday season revenue, the report added, suggesting Amazon's end-of-year revenue could come in above expectations.

Amazon stock traded at $1,858 per share at Wednesday's close, up about 0.6%% year-to-date.Here's what three analysts are expecting from Amazon's fourth-quarter report.