Quarterly Earnings, Online Retailer | featured news

Amazon.com Inc shares hit a record on Tuesday after it reported better-than-expected quarterly profit, fueled by the growth of higher-margin businesses during the fiercely competitive holiday quarter.

The company reported net income of $7 million, or 1 cent a share, on sales of $12.8 billion. It was less profit than analysts had estimated, but the revenue was in line with forecasts.

Amazon.com Inc's quarterly earnings beat Wall Street's most bullish expectations as the world's largest Internet retailer brought costs under control and saw early success selling more digital products through its new Kindle Fire tablet, sending its shares up almost 15 percent.

Amazon.com Inc reported that first-quarter sales rose 38.2 percent, above analysts' forecasts.