Amazon Stock Soars on Surprise Q3 Profit

Amazon turned an unexpected profit during its third quarter, reporting a gain where Wall Street had forecast a loss. As a result, the stock is jumping through the roof in after-hours markets.

The Jeff Bezos-led online retailer brought in $25.4 billion in revenue and $79 million in profit — or $0.17 per share. That sales sum is up 23 percent versus the same 90-day period last year. The 2014 Q3 net loss was $437 million.

Per Yahoo Finance, analysts actually foresaw a negative $0.13 per share on an expected $24.91 billion in revenue for the online retail giant. Zach’s believed the net loss would come out to more like a dime per share.

Clearly, the news — and earnings — were more positive.

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Founder and CEO Bezos (pictured above) was particularly bullish on his Fire tablet, something he used the moment to advertise.

“For the first time, we’re recommending you bring home a six-pack for the whole family,” he said in prepared remarks. “At a price of $50 for one or $250 for a six-pack, Fire sets a new bar for what customers should expect from a low-cost tablet. This is one more step in our mission to bring customers premium products at non-premium prices.’

“Fire is the No. 1 best-selling product on Amazon.com since launch, and based on the strength of the customer response, we are building millions more than we’d already planned,” Bezos concluded.

Amazon introduced four new tablets and three new Fire TV devices during the measured time period.

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AMZN closed on Wednesday at $563.91 per share, up $8.14 per share — or 1.46 percent. The stock had traded up midday before coming back down to earth.

It jumped again just before the U.S. trading day concluded, and skyrocketed when it ended. By 4:15 p.m. ET, the stock reached $628.21 per share — an all-time high.

Amazon Studios priced gem, “Transparent,” won five Emmys during the quarter. A Q3 investor call is set for 5 p.m. ET today.

The company also offered a fourth quarter 2015 forecast, estimating net sales to settle between $33.50 billion and $36.75 billion, or a 14-25 percent jump from 2014.