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Amazon Q4'17 diluted EPS beats expectations

Amazon.com Inc. broadly beat analyst expectations in results for its 2017 fourth quarter, with both net income and sales increasing faster than expected, the company said Feb. 1.

The company reported net income for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2017, of $1.86 billion, up from the $749 million it reported a year ago. Amazon's earnings per diluted share were $3.75, higher than the consensus estimate for GAAP EPS of $1.84 compiled by S&P Capital IQ.

Net income in the quarter included a tax benefit of $789 million related to the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump in December 2017.

Fourth-quarter 2017 operating income at the e-commerce giant rose 69% to $2.13 billion, compared to the operating income of $1.26 billion that it reported for the same period a year ago.

The company's net sales grew 38% to $60.45 billion from $43.74 billion in the year-ago quarter. Without an impact of $1.1 billion from favorable foreign exchange rates, net sales increased 36% compared with the same quarter in 2016. The S&P Capital IQ consensus estimate was for sales of $59.85 billion.

Amazon said it expects net sales for the first quarter of 2018 between $47.75 billion and $50.75 billion, rising between 34% and 42% over the same quarter in 2017. That includes a benefit from foreign exchange rates of about $1.2 billion, or 330 basis points.

The retail and technology company also projected that operating income for the first quarter will be between $300 million and $1 billion. The upper end of that range matches what it reported for the first quarter of 2017.

Shares of the Seattle-based e-commerce giant rose 4.4% to $60.56 in after-hours trading. The company, which owns the Whole Foods grocery chain, reported results after the market closed Feb. 1.

Amazon also reported results for its 2017 year. Diluted EPS for the year was $6.15, beating the S&P Capital IQ estimate for GAAP EPS of $4.24. Net income for the year totaled $3.03 billion, above the $2.37 billion that it reported for 2016.

Net sales for the year totaled $177.87 billion, above the $135.99 billion it reported for 2016.

Story was amended Feb. 1, 2018, at 5:18 p.m. ET to include details from Amazon's earnings report.