Amazon net income, revenue increase in Q4

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK (AA) - E-commerce giant Amazon saw its net income and revenue rise in the fourth quarter of 2016, the company announced Thursday.

Net income increased 55 percent to $749 million in the final quarter of last year, from $482 million the same period a year ago.

Revenue was up 22 percent to $43.7 billion, from $35.7 billion, during the same period.

Amazon Prime membership, which offers free two-day shipping and video streaming online, jumped 73 percent in 2016, from the previous year, CEO Jeff Bezos noted in the statement.

The company said it expects revenue to be between $33.25-$35.75 billion in the first quarter of this year, and net income to be between $250-$900 million.

Although net income and revenue rose year-over-year in the fourth quarter, they failed to meet market expectations.

As a result, Amazon stock price fell 4.5 percent on Wall Street during after-hours trading.