Amazon computer sales hit record in 2016 as sales boom as recession worsens

Amazon.com Computer sales hit a record in December, marking the fourth straight year that sales were higher than a year earlier, the company said Monday.

Amazon posted an operating profit of $1.09 billion, or $1,094 per share, on revenue of $24.4 billion.

The company also reported a gain of $3.05 billion on sales of $18.4 trillion, or 3.5% compared with last year.

The profit also beat analysts’ estimates, which had previously put Amazon’s operating profit at $1 billion.

“Sales have been growing at the fastest rate since 2009,” said Doug Creutz, Amazon’s chief financial officer.

Amazon’s online retail business saw revenue grow more than 12% year-over-year, according to the company.

Amazon is on pace to hit $20.9 billion in revenue this year, up from $20 billion in 2015, and expects to double its annual profit for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018, Creutz said.

In January, Amazon announced a plan to shutter more than 700 stores in the United States, and said it would shut a second Amazon fulfillment center in Oregon.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said the closure would save $200 million in costs over the next two years.

The stock has climbed about 20% in 2017, and is up nearly 10% this year.

Amazon was founded in 1998 and is a unit of Amazon.

Com Inc. The online retailer offers products from over 140 countries and has more than 10,000 stores in 46 countries.