Amazon's Jassy slashes spending, boosts sales

After layoffs and project cuts, revenue rises 11% to $134 bn, topping estimates

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Amazon.com Inc. chief executive officer Andy Jassy pulled off a financial double play this earnings season: generating strong revenue growth in the core e-commerce business while cutting the pace of spending. Wall Street applauded, sending the shares up about 8.8% in premarket trading on Friday.

Since taking the reins two years ago, Jassy has brought a decidedly unsentimental perspective to the world's largest e-commerce and cloud services company.

Under his direction, Amazon fired 27,000 people and pledged to keep headcount flat for the foreseeable future, whacked dozens of projects hatched during Jeff Bezos's tenure and put multiple businesses under review.

On Thursday, investors got a fresh look at the results. Second-quarter revenue increased 11% to $134.4 billion, the company said in a statement, topping estimates. Sales in the online stores category increased 4% to $53 billion. Amazon's cloud business, which typically supplies most of the company's operating profit, exceeded expectations and showed signs of stabilizing.