Amazon's Q3 sales surge 37% as more people shop online during pandemic

Amazon's sales grew 37 percent in the third quarter compared to the same period last year, to $96.1 billion, and profit increased 197 percent to $6.3 billion.

Sales at Amazon's online stores and of items Amazon sells directly to customers on its website grew 38 percent last quarter, while sales from third-party sellers from its site increased 55 percent.

The robust figures were a result of shoppers turning to the online giant to deliver goods to their homes in the pandemic.

Revenue from Amazon Web Services, the company's cloud computing business, grew 29 percent, while its advertising business grew 51 percent.

Amazon's sales at physical stores, including Whole Foods, dropped 10 percent.

The results topped estimates from Wall Street analysts.

Amazon expects to sell between $112 billion and $121 billion during its final quarter and post an operating income between $1 billion and $4.5 billion, including around $4 billion of costs related to the coronavirus.

According to Neil Saunders, an analyst at GlobalData Retail, said that Amazon's latest results show it continues to be a winner from the pandemic-triggered disruption caused by the pandemic.

During the pandemic, Amazon drew existing Prime members to its platform more frequently while adding new subscribers.

Analysts noted that Amazon's core Prime shoppers are from higher income brackets, making them less susceptible to job losses caused by the pandemic and of Congress' failure to pass a new stimulus bill.

Prime shoppers and have shifted their spending for travel and other leisure activities to electronics, kitchenware, and other items during the pandemic.

Amazon's growth comes at a time it is under scrutiny from lawmakers over its marketplace power.

In early October, the House Judiciary Committee released a report that found Amazon engaging in extensive anticompetitive conduct with its third-party sellers and other tactics that stifle competition.