Amazon raises annual Prime membership fee to $139
NEW YORK — Online behemoth Amazon is reporting strong fourth-quarter sales and profits even as it continues to contend with surging costs tied to a snarled supply chain and labor shortages.
The company, based in Seattle, also raised its Prime membership fee to $139 per year from $119. This is the first time Amazon has raised the price of Prime membership since 2018.
The company reported a profit of $14.32 billion, or $27.75 per share, for the three-month period that ended Dec. 31. That compared with a profit of $7.22 billion, or $14.09 per share, during the year-ago period. Revenue rose 9% to $137.41 billion, the company’s fifth consecutive quarter of revenue topping $100 billion.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet on average had expected $137.68 billion in quarterly revenue and per-share earnings of $3.61.
Amazon.com workers seeking to unionize four facilities in New York City said they now have enough signatures to call for a vote.
The company said that sales are expected to be between $112 billion and $117 billion for the current fiscal quarter. Analysts were expecting $120.93 billion, according to FactSet estimates.
Amazon has prospered during the COVID-19 outbreak: As physical stores selling nonessential goods temporarily or permanently closed, homebound people turned to Amazon for groceries, cleaning supplies and many other items.
But growth has slowed as newly vaccinated Americans feel comfortable going out. And the company, like many others, is dealing with global supply chain issues and shortages of workers.
Shares rose more than 13% in after-hours trading after Amazon released its results.
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