Amazon sales top $100B for 1st time in Q4 2020

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Amazon saw its sales surpassing the $100 billion mark in the fourth quarter of 2020, the first time in the company’s history, according to its financial results statement released on Tuesday.

The American e-commerce firm said its net sales surged by 43.7% to $125.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to $87.4 billion the same period of previous year, mainly due to the increase in online shopping during the pandemic and holiday season.

Net sales for full year of 2020 increased 37.6% to $386 billion, from $280.5 billion in 2019.

While net income rose 118% to $7.2 billion in October-December period of last year, the total earnings reached $21.3 billion in full year 2020, up from $11.6 billion in 2019, a 83.6% gain.

Millions of people in the US and around the world have turned to online shopping since last March as quarantine and stay-at-home measures forced retail stores to close but favored marketplaces on the internet.

Amazon said it estimates net sales to be between $100 billion and $106 billion in the first quarter of this year, which would mark a growth between 33% and 40% compared with the first quarter of 2020.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the world's second richest person, announced Tuesday he will step down from his position and would move to executive chair of the Amazon Board to "have the time and energy" on other projects.

Amazon stock price closed Tuesday with a 1.1% gain, giving the e-commerce company a market value of around $1.7 trillion.