Even without Prime Day, Amazon had a blockbuster quarter. Its net income nearly tripled from this time last year, as retail store closures and coronavirus restrictions encouraged people to spend big online. In its earnings report today, Amazon said it made $6.33 billion in net income, up from $2.13 billion during the same quarter a year earlier.
Amazon’s Prime Day — which has previously been held in July — was delayed until October, so it didn’t give a boost to this quarter’s results. The corporate holiday / sales event offers days of discounts, helping to drive purchases during an otherwise slower season. Even without it happening this summer, Amazon’s net sales reached $96.1 billion for its third quarter, up from $70.0 billion the same quarter a year earlier.
The pandemic seemed to give Amazon a similarly large boost last quarter. Between April and June, Amazon’s net income doubled year over year to $5.2 billion. That was despite Amazon spending more than $4 billion on costs related to coronavirus safety during the quarter.
Amazon expects to have a huge holiday season, too. The company plans to hire 100,000 seasonal workers in preparation for a surge in orders. “We’re seeing more customers than ever shopping early for their holiday gifts, which is just one of the signs that this is going to be an unprecedented holiday season,” Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in a press release.
The surge in sales will come with some additional costs, though. Amazon expects to spend another $4 billion on costs related to COVID-19 next quarter.
