NEW YORK (REUTERS, AFP) – Amazon on Tuesday (Feb 2) said founder Jeff Bezos would step down as chief executive officer and become executive chairman, as the company reported its third consecutive record profit and quarterly sales above US$100 billion (S$133 billion) for the first time.

The transition, slated for the third quarter, will make current cloud computing chief Andy Jassy Amazon’s next chief executive officer.

Net sales rose to US$125.56 billion as consumers turned to the world’s largest online retailer for holiday shopping, beating analyst estimates of US$119.7 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.