NEW YORK (AP) — It was another prime Christmas for Amazon.
The online retailer said Thursday it now has more than 150 million Prime members who pay $119 a year for faster shipping and other perks. That’s up 50% from the last time Amazon disclosed the number in 2018. It also beats Netflix, which has 139 million members who pay to stream movies and TV shows.
Also on Thursday, Amazon reported financial results for the holiday shopping season that were far better than Wall Street analysts expected.
Shares of Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc. soared 12% in after-hours trading.
The staggering number of Prime members is sure to spook other retailers. Analysts have said Prime members typically spend more of their money at Amazon than other stores.
There are signs some brick-and-mortar retailers had a rough holiday season.
Earlier this month, Target reported disappointing sales growth for November and December. And department stores Macy’s, Kohl’s and J.C. Penney all reported holiday sales declines. Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, will release its results next month.
Amazon said its profit jumped 8% to $3.3 billion for the three months that ended in December.
Earnings per share came to $6.47, far beyond the $4.04 per share analysts were expecting, according to research firm FactSet.
Revenue jumped 21% to $87.44 billion, also beating expectations.