Amazon's revenue jumps, beats Street forecast
Amazon.com beat Wall Street's fourth-quarter revenue and earnings expectations, as the e-commerce giant posted strong holiday sales amid a weak economy.
Amazon's revenues jumped 18 percent to $6.7 billion for the quarter compared with the same period a year earlier. Wall Street had been expecting Amazon to generate sales of $6.4 billion for the quarter, according to Thomson Reuters.
The company reported a 9 percent increase in net income to $225 million for the quarter, or 52 cents a share. Wall Street was expecting a net profit of 50 cents a share, excluding stock options expenses.
Amazon stock rose 7.5 percent to $53.75 a share in after-hours trading.
"We're particularly grateful for the unusually strong demand for Kindle in the fourth quarter," Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO, said in a statement in reference to the company's electronic reader.
During the fourth quarter, Amazon reported an 18 percent increase in U.S. and Canadian sales, compared to the same time a year ago.
Worldwide sales of its electronics and general merchandise climbed 31 percent to $2.89 billion in the quarter, compared with its performance a year ago.
Dawn Kawamoto covers enterprise security and financial news relating to technology for CNET News. E-mail Dawn. 
