Amazon posts record Q2 earnings as online sales soar 48% amid Covid-19

Rival brick-and-mortar retailers shut stores in lockdowns for coronavirus, as Amazon hired 175,000 people and saw demand for its services soar

Amazon.com Inc on Thursday posted the biggest profit in its 26-year history as online sales and its lucrative business supporting third-party merchants surged during the coronavirus pandemic.

Shares of Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, rose 5% in after-hours trade.

While rival brick-and-mortar retailers have had to shut stores during government-imposed lockdowns, Amazon hired 175,000 people in recent months and saw demand for its services soar. The company said revenue jumped 40% from a year earlier to $88.9 billion.

Amazon had forecast it might lose money in the just-ended second quarter because it expected to spend some $4 billion on protective equipment for staff