RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK — Amazon’s pandemic boom isn’t showing signs of slowing down.

The company said Thursday that its first-quarter profit more than tripled from a year ago, fueled by the growth of online shopping. It also posted revenue of more than $100 billion, the second quarter in row that the company has passed that milestone.

“Two of our kids [products] are now 10 and 15 years old—and after years of being nurtured, they’re growing up fast and coming into their own,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO, in a statement about the financial report.

“As Prime Video turns 10, over 175 million Prime members have streamed shows and movies in the past year, and streaming hours are up more than 70% year over year. Amazon Studios received a record 12 Academy Award nominations and two wins. Upcoming originals include Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse, The Tomorrow War, The Underground Railroad, and much more. In just 15 years, AWS has become a $54 billion annual sales run rate business competing against the world’s largest technology companies, and its growth is accelerating—up 32% year over year.

“Companies from Airbnb to McDonald’s to Volkswagen come to AWS because we offer what is by far the broadest set of
tools and services available, and we continue to invent relentlessly on their behalf. We love Prime Video and AWS, and we’re
proud to have them in the family.”

Amazon is one of the few retailers that has benefited during the pandemic. As physical stores temporarily closed, people stuck at home turned to Amazon to buy groceries, cleaning supplies and more. That doesn’t seem to be dying down.

In the first three months of this year, the company reported profit of $8.1 billion, compared to $2.5 billion the year before. Earnings per share came to $15.79, about $6 more per share than what Wall Street analysts expected, according to FactSet.

Revenue jumped 44% to $108.5 billion.

Amazon has a growing presence in the Triangle region and across North Carolina as it adds more distribution centers and hires more employees.

Read the financial report online.