Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos to step down in third quarter, Andy Jassy to takeover

New Delhi: Ecommerce giant Amazon.com Inc on Tuesday beat estimates for holiday-quarter sales and said Jeff Bezos would move to the role of executive chair in the third quarter and be replaced by Amazon Web Services head Andy Jassy as chief executive officer.

The announcement came as Amazon released its financial results for its fourth quarter that ended December 31, 2020.

According to IBES data from Refinitiv, the net sales rose to $125.56 billion in the fourth quarter from $87.44 billion, beating estimates of $119.7 billion. 

Amazon moved its two-day shopping event Prime Day, which it typically held in July, to early October, contributing to its holiday sales numbers.

"Amazon is what it is because of invention," Bezos, 57, said in a statement released by the company. "If you do it right, a few years after a surprising invention, the new thing has become normal. People yawn. That yawn is the greatest compliment an inventor can receive. When you look at our financial results, what you`re actually seeing are the long-run cumulative results of invention."

"Right now I see Amazon at its most inventive ever, making it an optimal time for this transition," he said.

Bezos, who founded Amazon in 1994 had stepped back from much of the day-to-day business over several years, though the pandemic pulled him back in last spring.