AMZN Stock Up 1%, Amazon Records Largest Quarter by Revenue, $125.56B in Sales

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by Ibukun Ogundare · 3 min read
AMZN Stock Up 1%, Amazon Records Largest Quarter by Revenue, $125.56B in Sales
Photo: Amazon

In the earnings report, Amazon also announced that Jeff Bezos would leave his post as the company’s CEO.

American technology company Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) has reported its largest quarter by revenue in the history of the multinational company. The company earned $125.56 billion in sales in the fourth quarter of 2020, a 44% increase over $87.4 billion reported in 2019 Q4.

Amazon Delivers Largest Quarter by Revenue

According to Amazon’s earnings report for 2020 Q4 published on the 2nd of February, the company crossed the $100 billion mark for the first time. Also, the reported revenue surpassed the earlier prediction of $119.17 billion by Refinitiv. The company also recorded $14.09 in earnings per share, over a $6 increase above the $7.23 forecast by Refinitiv.

Also in the fourth quarter of 2020, Amazon’s operating income surged from $3.9 billion recorded in 2019 Q4 to $6.9 billion. The quarter’s net income increased from $3.3 billion recorded in 2019 Q4 to $7.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020.

The financial results further revealed that Amazon’s operating cash flow for the trailing twelve months surged by 72% to $66.1 billion. In the previous trailing months, which ended on the 31st of December, 2019, Amazon’s operating cash flow was $38.5 billion.

Free cash flow also reached $31 billion, higher than $25.8 billion realized in the twelve trailing months ended in December 2019.

Andy Jassy to Replace Jeff Bezos as Amazon CEO

In the earnings report, Amazon also announced that Jeff Bezos would be leaving his post as the company’s CEO. The company said Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy would be replacing Bezos. In a statement, Amazon noted:

“Amazon is announcing today that Jeff Bezos will transition to the role of Executive Chair in the third quarter 2021 and Andy Jassy will become Chief Executive Officer at the time.”

In a memo received by employees, Bezos highlighted plans for his new role. He said he would focus on “new products and early initiatives.” In the earnings report, Bezos noted:

“If you do it right, a few years after a surprising invention, the new thing has become normal… When you look at our financial results, what you’re actually seeing are the long-run cumulative results of invention. Right now I see Amazon at its most inventive ever, making it an optimal time for this transition.”

Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky said that the company has a laid-down structure that would facilitate a smooth transition as Jassy becomes the new CEO. During a call with investors, Olsavsky said:

“I will reiterate that Jeff is not leaving. He is getting a new job. He will be involved in many one-way-door issues, as we say, one-way doors meaning the more important decisions like acquisitions, things like strategies, and going into grocery and other strategies.”

Yesterday AMZN stock closed with a 1% rise at $3,380. At press time, in the-premarket, Amazon stock is down 0.46% to $3,364.55. Amazon is continually recording increases as the company advanced 65.70% over the past year. AMZN gained 42.8% in the last three months. The company also surged nearly 8% over the past month. In the last five days, Amazon has increased by 4.56%.

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