The Coronavirus outbreak has had a massive impact on businesses. While many businesses have suffered tremendously due to the outbreak, with more than half a million companies reported to be in ‘significant distress’ within the UK alone, certain international corporations happen to be benefitting from the circumstances which the virus has brought. Here are five corporations which have particularly benefited from the lockdown:

Netflix

With the lockdown forcing many to stay home, digital streaming services such as Netflix has seen an increase in sign-ups.

Netflix has told the BBC that almost 16 million people created accounts during the first three months of the year, which is almost double the new sign-ups the firm saw in the last months of 2019.

It was reported that Europe, the Middle East and Africa were recorded to have the largest of new members with nearly 7 million new subscribers. The US and Canada were also known to jump with 2.3 million new members streaming the service, compared to only 550,000 within the last few months of 2019.

Amazon

Another corporation which is known to be doing pretty well despite the pandemic is Amazon.

Due to people having to remain inside more often, this has led to a boost in sales from the business.

According to The Guardian, the online retailer has been defined as a “clear winner” from the coronavirus predicament, with its share price rising by more than a third within a month, its clients are reported to be spending nearly $11,000 (£8,841) a second on its products and services and holder Jeff Bezos strengthening his position as the world’s wealthiest person owning $138 billion (£110 billion).

Uber Eats 

One thing that everybody is surely doing during lockdown is eating more, which leads to our next benefitted corporation being Uber Eats.

During the pandemic, people find themselves ordering takeout more often, and Uber Eats appears to be one of the winners from benefitting from the circumstances.

According to The Telegraph, data has shown that Uber’s food delivery business has exceeded its original car-booking service within the US for the first time ever.

An article by Forbes reports that Uber Eats has seen a 30% surge in clients who are registering to the service, as well as has received an arrival of new drivers.

Apple

Next on our list is Apple, which despite the lockdown causing its stores to close down, it still saw growth during the first three months of 2020.

According to the BBC, sales by the corporation boosted up to $58.3 billion (£46.2 billion), up from $58 billion within the same time in 2019, and overthrowing expectations of $54.5 billion.

The boss of Apple, Tim Cook, said that the business saw a “record for streaming” as well as “phenomenal” growth in its online store.

Despite the lockdown affecting the supply of iPhone due to Chinese factories shutting, as well as a drop in demand for devices within China – a leading market for Apple – during the months of February and March, the firm’s boss told investors during a call: “I don’t think I can remember a quarter where I’ve been prouder of Apple.”

Apple’s wearables, home and accessories department, which produces the Apple Watch and AirPods, rose 22.5% to $6.3 billion (£5 billion), while subscription services such as Apple Music and Apple TV jumped 16.6% to $13.3 billion (£10.6 billion) equivalent.

Zoom

As most people find themselves social distancing and working from home, this has led to video call services such as Zoom to increase in the number of users signing up.

According to The Guardian, there has been an increase in the demand for video-conferencing and downloads of video conferencing apps, as the lockdown has led a number of things including UK cabinet meeting to be moved online.

Zoom, which enables users to communicate to up to 99 other people at the same time has become one of the most popular apps being used during the lockdown, often being at the top of the download charts in Apple’s app store.

Although the company does not share daily download figures, app tracking company Apptosia stated that Zoom was downloaded 2.13 million times around the world on 23^rdof March – the day lockdown was announced within the UK – up from 56,000 a day two months before.

By Gabriela Jimenez

Featured image source: Pexels.com