Quarterly Earnings, Amazon.com | featured news

Amazon.com Inc shares hit a record on Tuesday after it reported better-than-expected quarterly profit, fueled by the growth of higher-margin businesses during the fiercely competitive holiday quarter.

The company reported net income of $7 million, or 1 cent a share, on sales of $12.8 billion. It was less profit than analysts had estimated, but the revenue was in line with forecasts.

Jeff Bezos’ net worth jumped $2.7 billion to $21.5 billion on Friday, the first trading day after Amazon surprised investors with stronger than expected earnings on Thursday after the market closed. Net income for the quarter was 28 cents a share, quadruple the Street consensus at 7 cents, as reported by my colleague Eric Savitz. Net sales increased 34% to $13.18 billion in the first quarter. The stock jumped $30.9, or 15.8%, in one day.

Amazon.com Inc's quarterly earnings beat Wall Street's most bullish expectations as the world's largest Internet retailer brought costs under control and saw early success selling more digital products through its new Kindle Fire tablet, sending its shares up almost 15 percent.