Amazon posts jump in sales and profits
Amazon saw its net sales increase by 9% to $137.4 billion in its fourth quarter after being boosted by its biggest-ever Black Friday to Cyber Monday holiday shopping weekend.
The online retail giant said clothing, beauty, home and toys were among the top-selling categories.
Meanwhile, Amazon’s net income grew to $14.3 billion in the fourth quarter, or $27.75 per diluted share, compared with $7.2 billion, or $14.09 per diluted share, in the same period in 2020.
In addition, it experienced strong growth in its Amazon Web Services and subscription services businesses.
Andy Jassy, Amazon chief executive, said: “Given the extraordinary growth we saw in 2020 when customers predominantly stayed home, and the fact that we’ve continued to grow on top of that in 2021, our retail teammates have effectively operated in peak mode for almost two years. It’s been a tremendous effort, and I’m appreciative and proud of how hard our teams have worked to serve customers.
“As expected over the holidays, we saw higher costs driven by labour supply shortages and inflationary pressures, and these issues persisted into the first quarter due to Omicron. Despite these short-term challenges, we continue to feel optimistic and excited about the business as we emerge from the pandemic. ”
Amazon has also announced that it is increasing the price of Prime membership in the US, with the monthly fee going from $12.99 to $14.99, and the annual membership from $119 to $139, although it did not refer to any price rise in the UK.
