Amazon Blows Away Fourth-Quarter Earnings Estimates; Stock Soars After Hours

Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN late Thursday posted a 21% year-over-year increase in fourth-quarter 2019 revenue to $87.4 billion, and rang up a $12.9 billion shipping tab for the quarter, 43% higher than in the year-earlier quarter. But the big story was on the bottom line.

Amazon posted net income of $3.3 billion, or $6.47 per diluted share, blowing away analysts' median estimates of $3.98 a share on Barchart. Amazon's share price was blasting off in after hours trading Thursday, with shares trading up more than $235 a share to decisively breach the $2,000-a-share mark in the first 45 minutes of trading.

Fourth-quarter operating income increased to $3.9 billion from $3.8 billion, Amazon said.

For the year, revenue rose 20% to $280.5 billion. Excluding a $2.6 billion hit on currency fluctuations, revenue rose 22% over full-year 2018 totals, Amazon said. Operating income increased to $14.5 billion from $12.4 billion, while net income rose to $11.6 billion, or $23.01 per diluted share, compared with $10.1 billion, or $20.14 per diluted share, in 2018, the company reported.

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