bezos2Amazon today posted revenue of $29.3 billion and $214 million in profit for the 2014 holiday quarter. While Amazon missed Wall Street’s expectations of $29.7 billion in revenue, it crushed earnings predictions with a $0.45 EPS — analysts expected $0.17 per share.

Shares of Amazon are up nearly eight percent in after-hours trading [Update: As of 3:30 p.m., shares are now up 14 percent]. Total revenue was up 15 percent from the year-ago quarter, while profits were down 10 percent from 2013.

Amazon’s previous two quarters have been less-than-stellar. In the third quarter, the company posted a $437 million net loss — $0.95 per share —  significantly deeper than what analysts had predicted. Part of that loss was due to a $170 million charge on its Fire Phone, largely seen as a bust to date. As a result, Amazon’s stock fell by 8 percent and dipped to $287 per share.

In the second quarter, Amazon showed a net loss of $126 million. It posted net income of $108 million during the first quarter.

The company’s stock is currently trading at about $335 per share and is down about 20 percent in the last year.

It’s been a busy quarter for Amazon, which acquired game-streaming website Twitch for $1 billion and agreed to purchase Israel-based chip-maker Annapurna Labs for a reported $350 million. Amazon also resolved a six-month public spat with Hachette Book Group over pricing and profit margins for e-books. In addition, the company won its first Golden Globe awards for Transparent, the new dramatic comedy produced by Amazon Studios.

Amazon also noted today that Prime memberships grew by 53 percent last year, despite membership prices rising by $20 a year. The company expects revenue of $20.9 billion to $22.9 billion for Q1 2015, and a net loss between $450 million and $50 million.

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