Sherwood News

Amazon delivered 9 billion items on the same or next day in 2024

Most American adults have a Prime membership. Jeffrey Bezos — congratulations, you did it!

2/5/25 9:43AM

Box clever

Ahead of its Q4 earnings on Thursday, Amazon has already been delivering some blockbuster figures this week, revealing on Tuesday that it shipped a staggering 9 billion items the same or next day last year.

Bezos’ big box giant also announced that Prime members around the world saved almost $95 billion on free delivery last year, while US subscribers saved $500 on average — almost 4x the annual price of Prime, the retailer was keen to point out.

Amazon Prime, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, has grown and morphed in the years since its inception. In 2011, the company let paying users access 5,000 films and TV shows, kickstarting what we know today as Prime Video; it launched Prime Music in 2014; teamed up with GrubHub to offer subscribers free food delivery in 2022; and obviously still provides its all-important same- and next-day delivery service. For better or worse, it’s become a subscription that many Americans choose not to live without.

Prime numbers

According to estimates from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, the number of US shoppers who use Prime — not paid subscribers, just those who access a membership — hit a record 194 million by the end of 2024. The stat’s made even more impressive by the fact that just two years ago, the same firm declared that subscribers to Amazon’s flagship service were plateauing, a charge that Amazon publicly disputed at the time.

Amazon hasn’t commented on this latest release from CIRP, but then, why would it? The 194 million figure would mean that over 75% of US adults were using Prime in 2024, per Census Bureau data — a pretty healthy market share by anyone’s standards.

Rani Molla

Looks like Tesla’s Q2 is off to a bad start, too

Despite promising a “return to growth” at the start of the year, Tesla’s first quarter was a flop, with earnings missing analysts’ lowered expectations and vehicle sales declining more than ever before.

Early indications show the second quarter isn’t starting off much better than the first.

Tesla sales dropped nearly 60% last month in France year on year — to a two-year low — and declined 67% in Denmark, Reuters reports. That’s despite the arrival of the new Model Y that was supposed to boost sales.

In the coming days and weeks, we’ll see how second-quarter Tesla sales are starting to shape up in other countries.

Of course, in Tesla’s latest earnings report, the company no longer made mention of a return to growth this year, let alone the 20% to 30% growth the company had predicted last year.

France car registrations down 5.64% in April, Tesla sales drop 59.45%

In the coming days and weeks, we’ll see how second-quarter Tesla sales are starting to shape up in other countries.

Of course, in Tesla’s latest earnings report, the company no longer made mention of a return to growth this year, let alone the 20% to 30% growth the company had predicted last year.

Claire Yubin Oh

impersonal shopper

11h

Visa and Mastercard want AI to do your online shopping for you

Giants of the swipe-tap-insert ecosystem are looking for bot assistance to maintain their grip on global payments.

Jon Keegan

11h

Nadella: “I feel very, very good” about the pace of Microsoft’s data center plans

Microsoft plans an increase in capital expenditures for AI, but say it’s being careful not to get “upside down” on demand.

Volkswagen And Microsoft CEOs Hold "Fireside Chat"

Max Knoblauch

12h

Microsoft is raising the cost of the Xbox by $100 in the US and hiking game costs, too

While Microsoft shares are still riding high from its expectations-beating earnings report on Wednesday, the tech giant announced it’s raising the price of its high-powered Xbox Series X console by $100 in the US.

The Series X will now cost $600 for US customers, up from $500. Versions of the Xbox Series S, the lower-cost console with weaker graphics hardware, are now $80 more than they were earlier this week.

In a post announcing the price hikes, Microsoft points to “market conditions and the rising cost of development” as the reason for the move. Tariffs are expected to substantially increase the costs of video game console production. Earlier this month, Sony hiked PS5 prices in Europe by up to $75.

Microsoft likely has less wiggle room with spreading out the cost of the levies, since it sold only an estimated 5 million Xbox consoles last year. In the same time, Sony sold more than 20 million PS5s.

Also rising: the price ceiling of Microsoft’s biggest games to $80 this holiday season. That matches the elevated level first seen with Nintendo’s “Mario Kart World.” Before jumping up to $70 with the latest generation of consoles around 2020, the $60 video game price point held strong for about 15 years.

Max Knoblauch

13h

GM’s expecting an up to $5 billion tariff hit this year, but its CEO says prices should stay “about the same”

GM shares shed all premarket gains on Thursday morning after the company issued its full-year guidance and tariff cost estimates following a delay.

The Chevrolet parent company said it expects its 2025 earnings before interest and taxes to be between $10 billion and $12.5 billion, down from earlier guidance of up to $15.7 billion.

Despite some recent relief in the form of potential tariff reimbursement, GM said it anticipates a 2025 tariff cost of between $4 billion and $5 billion. Unlike rivals like Tesla that are more set up for relief, 46% of GM’s US sales are imports and its vehicles contain just 54% US content on average, per estimates.

That’s far short of the 85% threshold that will essentially grant automakers full exemption from the 25% auto parts tariff taking effect Saturday.

Despite those higher expected costs, CEO Mary Barra told CNN on Thursday that the company expects pricing to “stay at about the same level as it is.” Experts have estimated tariffs will hike vehicle costs by more than 11% on average.

GM CEO Mary Barra says tariffs will cost the company up to $5 billion this year | CNN Business