Amazon Smashes Wall Street’s Q4 Earnings Estimates, Profit Gain Driven by Stake in Rivian

variety.com:

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterAmazon significantly beat fourth-quarter 2021 earnings estimates but narrowly missed on revenue, reporting Thursday a profit gain of almost $12 billion thanks to its investment in electric car company Rivian.Net sales for the quarter were up 9% to $137.4 billion.

After some favorable adjustments that excluded the $1.3 billion impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, net sales increased to 10%.The tech giant revealed in its Q4 earnings results that it is hiking the price of its Prime service from $12.99 to $14.99.The company said: “With the continued expansion of Prime member benefits as well as the rise in wages and transportation costs, Amazon will increase the price of a Prime membership in the U.S., with the monthly fee going from $12.99 to $14.99, and the annual membership from $119 to $139.” Click here to sign up for Variety‘s free Strictly Business newsletter covering earnings, financial and investment news, and more.Wall Street analysts forecast earnings per share (EPS) of $3.58 on $137.56 billion in revenue, per Refinitiv data.

Amazon reported diluted earnings per share of $27.75 on $137.41 billion in revenue.Amazon stock closed Thursday at $2,776.91 per share, with it climbing more than 18% in after-hours trading.

The regular U.S. stock markets will reopen Friday at 9:30 a.m. ET.“A big thank you to employees across Amazon who overcame another quarter of COVID-related challenges and delivered for customers this holiday season.