Amazon Reports $43 Billion in Fourth Quarter Sales

Online retail giant Amazon continues to draw consumers to its web-based shopping platform. The company announced its fourth quarter net sales revenue was $43.7 billion, up 22 percent from $35.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2015.

During the fourth quarter of 2016, operating cash flow for Seattle-based Amazon increased 38 percent to $16.4 billion, compared with $11.9 billion during the same period in 2015. Free cash flow rose to $9.7 billion for the quarter compared with $7.3 billion in the year-ago period.

In addition to its sales increase, Amazon announced it will create more than 100,000 full-time jobs with benefits in the United States over the next 18 months. The jobs will be diverse in location, experience, and education.

Amazon expanded its booming business in New York City and across the country during 2016. The company teamed up with New York-based RCN Business through Amazon Web Services, offering customers a super fast connection up to 10-gigabits. The company will also open a retail store in the Time Warner Center near Midtown. A spokesperson for Amazon confirmed to the New York Times that the new store is expected to open in the Spring of 2017.