NEW YORK (AP) — It was a prime holiday season for Amazon: The online retailer's quarterly profit soared past $1 billion for the first time in its more than 20-year history as it sold more voice-activated gadgets, enlisted new Prime members and benefited from its recent purchase of Whole Foods.
The Seattle-based company's profit was also helped by recent changes to the tax law, giving it a $789 million tax benefit during the fourth quarter.
Amazon on Thursday reported net income of $1.9 billion, or $3.75 per share, in the three months ending Dec. 31. That blew past the $1.88 per share analysts expected, according to FactSet.
Revenue soared 38 percent to $60.5 billion in the fourth quarter, beating the $59.8 billion analysts expected.
For the first quarter, the company expects revenue between $47.75 billion and $50.75 billion. Analysts expected first-quarter revenue of $48.6 billion.
Amazon.com Inc.'s stock jumped 6 percent in after-hours trading Thursday.
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Contact Joseph Pisani at http://twitter.com/josephpisani