Amazon delivers bigger-than-expected Q4 profit

New York -- Amazon reported higher-than-expected profit for its fourth quarter, fueled by growth of its Prime memberships and holiday shoppers, even as its sales came in below forecasts. It’s a reverse for the e-commerce giant, which has typically sacrificed profits for rapidly-growing sales.



For the fourth quarter, net income totaled $214 million, down from $239 million in the year-ago period, but better than analysts had expected. Sales rose 15% to $29.3 billion, lower than the expected $29.7 billion.



The company said Amazon Prime, its annual membership program, saw its worldwide paid membership grow 53% last year, growing 50% in the United States and at a slightly faster rate internationally.



"When we raised the price of Prime membership last year, we were confident that customers would continue to find it the best bargain in the history of shopping. The data is in and customers agree — on a base of tens of millions, worldwide paid membership grew 53 percent last year — 50% in the U.S. and even a bit faster outside the U.S.," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com.



Amazon has been aggressively pumping up the Prime program, adding content to its streaming services and a series of products available only to members who pay the $99 annual fee.



Most recently, Amazon said it would launch a corporate email and calendar service, called WorkMail, in its second quarter. The new offering will compete against such establishes services as Microsoft Office 365 and Google for Work.