SEATTLE _ The holiday shopping season gave Amazon the gift of a record profit, with the retail juggernaut posting $1.9 billion in net income during the final three months of 2017.
Amazon's stock climbed in after-hours trading following the earnings report Thursday. The results easily surpassed Wall Street analysts' expectations.
The Seattle company posted a profit of $3.75 a share, above the $1.84 a share analysts had expected, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Amazon's North American retail sales surged 42 percent from the prior year.
The company, which has a reputation for plowing cash back into expansion of its business, also reported a jump in that segment's profitability. Operating margin in North America widened to 4.5 percent from 3.1 percent during the same period a year earlier.
For the full year, Amazon pulled in $177.9 billion in revenue, up 31 percent from 2016, and $3 billion in net income.
Amazon shares traded up 4.7 percent at $1,457 in early after-hours trading Thursday The stock had closed regular trading down 4.2 percent at $1,390.
