Amazon profit falls as pandemic-related costs rise

New York, May 1 (AP) Amazon's profit fell 29% in the first quarter as its costs for shipping millions of packages to home-bound customers rose. But the online retail behemoth said its sales soared as more people opt to shop online during the coronavirus pandemic.

Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said the company will likely spend at least 4 billion during the second quarter in order to speed up delivery times and buy masks and other protection equipment for workers in its warehouses and Whole Foods supermarkets.

Shares of Amazon.com Inc. fell about 5% in after-hours trading Thursday following the release of the earnings report.

The Seattle-based company reported net income of 2.54 billion in the first quarter, compared with 3.56 billion a year ago. Earnings per share came to 5.01, below the 6.23 analysts expected, according to FactSet.

Revenue rose 26% to 75.5 billion, beating expectations of 73.7 billion.