Online giant Amazon has reported skyrocketing sales and earnings as the pandemic-stoked shift to online continued.

Amazon’s net income climbed almost fourfold to $8.1bn (£5.8bn) from $2.5bn (£1.8bn) in the first quarter of the year, when net sales rose 44% to $108.5bn (£77.9bn). Operating income more than doubled to $8.9bn (£6.4bn) in the period to March 31, 2021.

As well as demand from shoppers, businesses increasingly turned to the Amazon Web Services business, which now has an annual sales run rate of $54bn (£39bn).

Streaming hours at entertainment business Prime Video rose 70% year on year, founder Jeff Bezos said.

The Prime subscription service overall now has around 200 million members worldwide. 

Amazon said it “continues to innovate and invest in fast, free and convenient delivery for customers”.

Initiatives include Amazon Scout, a fully electric autonomous delivery system: “Similar in size to a small cooler on wheels, Amazon Scout rolls down the sidewalk at walking pace and delivers items right to customers.” Scout is currently beng extended to more areas of the US.

Amazon expects further growth in the second quarter. The etailer expects sales to advance between 24% and 30% year on year to between $110bn (£79bn) and $116bn (£83bn).

Second-quarter operating income is expected to be between $4.5bn (£3.2bn) and $8bn (£5.8bn), versus $5.8bn (£4.2bn) in the comparable period last year.

The financial guidance assumes $1.5bn of Covid costs and that the Prime Day promotion takes place in the second quarter.

Topics