Amazon’s net income climbed almost fourfold to $8.1bn (£5.8bn) from $2.5bn (£1.8bn) in the first quarter of the year, when net sales rose 44% to $108.5bn (£77.9bn). Operating income more than doubled to $8.9bn (£6.4bn) in the period to March 31, 2021.

As well as demand from shoppers, businesses increasingly turned to the Amazon Web Services business, which now has an annual sales run rate of $54bn (£39bn).

Streaming hours at entertainment business Prime Video rose 70% year on year, founder Jeff Bezos said.