Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos To Step Down From CEO Position

(Reuters) ― Amazon.com Inc on Tuesday mentioned founder Jeff Bezos would step down as CEO and grow to be govt chairman, as the corporate reported its third consecutive file revenue and quarterly gross sales above $100 billion for the primary time.

The transition, slated for the third quarter, will make present cloud computing chief Andy Jassy Amazon’s subsequent chief govt officer.

Web gross sales rose to $125.56 billion as customers turned to the world’s largest on-line retailer for vacation buying, beating analyst estimates of $119.7 billion, in keeping with IBES information from Refinitiv.

Bezos, 57, who began the corporate 27 years in the past as an web bookseller, mentioned in a be aware to workers posted on Amazon’s web site, “As Exec Chair I’ll keep engaged in essential Amazon initiatives but additionally have the time and vitality I must give attention to the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Put up, and my different passions.”

He added, “I’ve by no means had extra vitality, and this isn’t about retiring.”

Because the begin of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak, customers have turned more and more to Amazon for supply of house staples and medical provides. Brick-and-mortar retailers closed their doorways; Amazon, the world’s largest on-line retailer, as an alternative recruited over 400,000 extra staff and posted consecutive file earnings. 

With its warehouses open, Amazon had one other file vacation, beating estimates for on-line retailer gross sales, subscription gross sales, third-party service gross sales akin to warehousing and different gross sales to retailers on its platform.

Jassy’s Amazon Net Companies (AWS), historically a brilliant spot, fell barely wanting expectations. Whereas the cloud computing division introduced offers within the quarter with ViacomCBS, the BMW Group and others, it posted income of $12.7 billion, wanting the $12.8 billion analysts had estimated.

A lift in income got here from transferring Amazon’s advertising and marketing occasion Prime Day ― normally in July ― to October, lengthening the vacation buying season.