Online sales soared as more people opt to shop online during the coronavirus pandemic. Photo / AP
Amazon's profit fell 29 per cent in the first quarter as its costs for shipping millions of packages to home-bound customers rose. But the online retail behemoth said its sales soared as more people opt to shop online during the coronavirus pandemic.
Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said the
company will likely spend at least US$4 billion ($6.5b) during the second quarter in order to speed up delivery times and buy masks and other protection equipment for workers in its warehouses and Whole Foods supermarkets.
Shares of Amazon.com Inc. fell about 5 per cent in after-hours trading Thursday following the release of the earnings report.
The Seattle-based company reported net income of US$2.54b in the first quarter, compared with US$3.56b a year ago. Earnings per share came to US$5.01, below the US$6.23 analysts expected, according to FactSet.
Revenue rose 26 per cent to US$75.5b, beating expectations of US$73.7b.
