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Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos is set to go out of business as it posted record sales for its core Christmas quarter, topping $ 100 billion (£ 73.1 billion) for the first time with the help of the coronavirus pandemic.

The e-commerce, cloud data storage and entertainment giant said Bezos would be appointed Executive Chair in the summer, with Andy Jassy, ​​head of Amazon Web Services, assuming the top position.

Bezos said the shift would give him more time to focus on his other passions, including fighting climate change, and the company’s recent results indicated that it was the right time to make the transition.

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Amazon has benefited from lockdown restrictions in major global markets

Amazon Total revenue of $ 125.6 billion (£ 92 billion) between October and December 2020 – a period that occupied its annual Prime Day – was delayed for the first time from July – Black Friday and holiday season business.

This corresponds to an increase of 43% compared to the same period in the previous year COVID-19 The crisis hammered physical retailers, forcing a rush to work from home, and fueling demand for TV and movie downloads during curfew.

According to Amazon, sales for 2020 totaled $ 386.1 billion (£ 283 billion) – up 38%.

While the company’s range of services was well positioned to capitalize on pandemic disruption in its core markets, the cost of meeting coronavirus security requirements limited net income to $ 21.3 billion – up from $ 11 billion in 2019.

The company is expected to provide an overview of business developments in the UK on Wednesday.

Bezos hailed the group’s financial performance – a culmination of 26 years of work that catapulted him into the world’s richest person last year before being overtaken by Tesla’s Elon Musk.

He told investors, “If you get it right, a few years after a surprising invention, the new has become normal.

“People yawn. That yawn is the greatest compliment an inventor can get. If you look at our financial results, you are actually seeing the long-term cumulative results of the invention.

“Right now, I see Amazon in its most inventive form, which makes it an optimal time for this transition.”

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Outside of Amazon, his interests include the Bezos Earth Fund and the Washington Post newspaper

He said new products would be among the areas he would prioritize in his new role at the company.

Despite the bombshell, stocks remained unchanged after close of business – tempered by the fact that core numbers exceeded analysts’ expectations.

Hilding Anderson, retail analyst at technology consultancy Publicis Sapient, said of the company’s update: “Today’s Q4 results from Amazon have been somewhat overshadowed by the announcement that Jeff Bezos will take over the role of Executive Chair in the third quarter, replacing Andy Jassy as CEO becomes.

“However, Amazon’s earnings broke records again this quarter, surpassing the $ 100 billion mark for the first time.

“The sweeping changes in behavior brought about by COVID-19, new fast-growing technologies like e-commerce and the cloud, and disruptive innovations like Alexa and the promise of Amazon Go technology – have led to this milestone.

“We’ll look back on 2020 as the year Amazon consolidated its dominance.”