Amazon grew sales by 40% in North America in the 4th quarter of 2020, 57% internationally, and its AWS division grew 28%, for consolidated sales growth of 44% (or 42% currency neutral).
Amazon announced financial results for its fourth quarter ended December 31, 2020 and full-year results, as well as making a bombshell announcement that its founder Jeff Bezos would be stepping down from his role as CEO – see the AuctionBytes Blog.
Amazon said it had a record-breaking holiday season, delivering more than a billion toys, home, fashion, electronics, beauty, and personal care products to customers worldwide.
CNBC noted the $125.6 billion in consolidated net sales was the first $100 billion quarter, noting it followed a “holiday and pandemic shopping surge.”
Some excerpts of its earnings press release of particular interest to readers follow:
Fourth Quarter 2020
- Net sales increased 44% to $125.6 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with $87.4 billion in fourth quarter 2019. Excluding the $1.7 billion favorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, net sales increased 42% compared with fourth quarter 2019.
- Operating income increased to $6.9 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with operating income of $3.9 billion in fourth quarter 2019.
Net income increased to $7.2 billion in the fourth quarter, or $14.09 per diluted share, compared with net income of $3.3 billion, or $6.47 per diluted share, in fourth quarter 2019.
Full Year 2020
- Net sales increased 38% to $386.1 billion, compared with $280.5 billion in 2019. Excluding the $1.4 billion favorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the year, net sales increased 37% compared with 2019.
- Operating income increased to $22.9 billion, compared with operating income of $14.5 billion in 2019.
- Net income increased to $21.3 billion, or $41.83 per diluted share, compared with net income of $11.6 billion, or $23.01 per diluted share, in 2019.
Empowering Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
“The 2020 holiday season was the best ever for independent businesses selling on Amazon—nearly all of which are small and medium-sized businesses—with worldwide sales growing over 50% compared to the same period in 2019. Sellers surpassed $4.8 billion in worldwide sales from Black Friday through Cyber Monday, growing about 60% from the previous year. During the holiday season as a whole, small and medium-sized businesses in the U.S. sold nearly one billion products in Amazon’s store.”
You can find the full press release with charts and details on the AboutAmazon.com website.
another great job for amazon