THE WHAT? Amazon has announced its results for the first quarter of the current financial year. The e-commerce behemoth saw sales soar 44 percent versus the same period in 2020 to US$108.5 billion, while operating income rose to US$8.9 billion compared to US$4 billion in Q1 2020.

THE DETAILS What’s more, the online shopping giant is expecting growth to continue in the second quarter of the year, despite the lifting of lockdowns across Europe and the US, forecasting a sales rise of 24 to 30 percent for the April to June period versus the same three months in 2020.  

Highlights of the quarter include the launch of a Polish site as well as the expansion of Amazon’s air cargo network with the purchase of 11 aircraft. The company also opened its first international physical retail stores powered by Just Walk Out technology in London, bringing the total of Amazon Fresh physical stores to 15 worldwide.

Meanwhile, Amazon Web Services saw ‘significant customer momentum’ while its entertainment arm celebrated its most successful awards season to date.

THE WHY? Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO, commented, “As Prime Video turns 10, over 175 million Prime members have streamed shows and movies in the past year, and streaming hours are up more than 70 percent year over year. Amazon Studios received a record 12 Academy Award nominations and two wins. Upcoming originals include Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse, The Tomorrow War, The Underground Railroad, and much more. In just 15 years, AWS has become a $54 billion annual sales run rate business competing against the world’s largest technology companies, and its growth is accelerating—up 32 percent year over year. Companies from Airbnb to McDonald’s to Volkswagen come to AWS because we offer what is by far the broadest set of tools and services available, and we continue to invent relentlessly on their behalf. We love Prime Video and AWS, and we’re proud to have them in the family.”