Alongside the financial results of the third quarter, Amazon.com announces that the e-commerce pioneer’s Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos will transition to role of Executive Chair in Q3, while Andy Jassy will become Chief Executive Officer of Amazon at that time. Andy currently is the CEO of Amazon Web Services (AWS).

In an email addressed to Amazon employees, Jeff wrote, “Amazon is what it is because of invention. We do crazy things together and then make them normal. We pioneered customer reviews, 1-Click, personalized recommendations, Prime’s insanely-fast shipping, Just Walk Out shopping, the Climate Pledge, Kindle, Alexa, marketplace, infrastructure cloud computing, Career Choice, and much more. 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.”

Jeff added, “As Exec Chair I will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives but also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions. I’ve never had more energy, and this isn’t about retiring. I’m super passionate about the impact I think these organizations can have.”

According to the financial results, Amazon’s net sales increased 38 percent to $386.1 billion in 2020, compared with $280.5 billion in 2019. Excluding the $1.4 billion favorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the year, net sales increased 37 percent compared with 2019. The company’s operating income increased to $22.9 billion, compared with operating income of $14.5 billion in 2019. Net income increased to $21.3 billion, or $41.83 per diluted share, compared with net income of $11.6 billion, or $23.01 per diluted share, in 2019.