Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos adds US$3.3 billion to his fortune in one day

Jeff Bezos is now $5 billion away from becoming the richest man in the world. Photo / Bloomberg

Amazon boss Jeff Bezos added US$3.3 billion ($4.8b) to his fortune today in after-hours trading of the e-commerce giants' shares, Bloomberg reports.

The move puts him less than US$5b away from becoming the world's richest person, Bloomberg said.

Bezos saw his fortune surpass US$80b for the first time, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Amazon.com Inc.'s unbroken 20-year streak of double-digit revenue growth shows no sign of slowing this year, helped by an influx of online shoppers who are abandoning stores and new business for its cloud-computing division.

The company projected sales that may beat estimates in the current quarter, reinforcing its message to investors that big spending on warehouses that hold inventory, movies that engage customers and devices that dazzle are all part of a winning formula.

First-quarter sales increased 23 per cent to US$35.7b. Net income was US$724 million, or US$1.48 a share, the company said in a statement. Analysts estimated profit of US$1.08 a share on revenue of US$35.3b, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Shares gained as much as 5 per cent in extended trading after closing at a record US$918.76 in New York. The stock has jumped 23 per cent this year.

The world's largest online retailer is dominating e-commerce in the U.S. with its US$99-a-year Amazon Prime subscription, which includes delivery discounts, music and video streaming and photo storage that keep shoppers engaged with the website. Seattle-based Amazon had 80 million Prime subscribers in the U.S. as of March 31, an increase of 36 percent from a year earlier, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.

Amazon Web Services, its cloud-computing division, subsidizes the company's spending for various initiatives such as expanding into India and Australia, speeding up delivery times to as little as an hour on select products, adding new skills and devices for its voice-activated Alexa platform and producing original movies and shows. Operating expenses rose 24 per cent to US$34.7b in the quarter.

Prime memberships help lock in loyalty, which is critical as competitors such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. enhance their e-commerce offerings to slow Amazon's momentum.

Amazon forecast operating income in the current quarter of US$425m to US$1.08b on net sales of US$35.3b to US$37.8b. That compares with operating income of US$1.29b on sales of US$30.4b in the same period a year ago. Analysts projected sales of US$36.9b in the current quarter.

Amazon Web Services revenue gained 43 per cent to US$3.66b. That's slower than 47 per cent year-over-year growth in the previous quarter.

- Bloomberg