Amazon Q1 Sales Jump 28%

First quarter net sales at Amazon.com increased 28% year-over-year as the company saw strong growth across multiple segments including general merchandise and media.

For the three-month period ended March 31, sales were $29.1 billion, up from sales of $22.7 billion for the comparable quarter the previous year. Net income for the quarter was $513 million, or $1.07 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $57 million, or $0.12 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2015. 

Operating income was $1.1 billion in the first quarter, compared with $255 million in the first quarter of 2015.

Net sales in the company’s North American division were $16.9 billion, up from net sales of $13.4 billion in the same quarter a year ago. International sales were $9.6 billion, up from sales of $7.7 billion in the first quarter of 2015.

For the second quarter of 2016, company officials expect net sales of between $28 billion and $30.5 billion, or growth of between 21% and 32%.

“Amazon devices are the top selling products on Amazon, and customers purchased more than twice as many Fire tablets than first quarter last year,” said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. “Earlier this week, the $39 Fire TV stick became the first product ever— from any manufacturer— to pass 100,000 customer reviews, including over 62,000 five-star reviews, also more than any other product ever sold on Amazon. Echo too is off to an incredible start, and we can’t yet manage to keep it in stock despite all efforts. We’re building premium products at non-premium prices, and we’re thrilled so many customers are responding to our approach.”

Other highlights of the quarter include the company's expansion of Prime delivery. Prime free same-day delivery expanded to 11 new metro areas and now serves Prime members in 27 metro areas throughout the U.S.

Amazon.com is also continuing to expand its fulfillment center operations across the country, with plans to open two new fulfillment centers in New Jersey and one in Long Island.