Amazon.com Inc (AMZN) shares surged 14 percent in after-hours trading Thursday after the Internet retailer reported fourth-quarter earnings that trounced analyst estimates.

Net income at the Seattle, Washington-based company came in at $214 million, or 45 cents per share, well above Wall Street estimates of 17 cents per share. While a majority of analysts had downwardly revised estimates for Amazon in recent weeks, the earnings topped by 21 cents the 24 cents per share projected by the Zacks Consensus Estimate which takes out stock option expense and other non-recurring items.

Net sales rose 15 percent to $29.33 billion compared with $25.59 billion a year earlier. Operating income also rose, to $591 million, up 16 percent from $510 million.

Strong holiday sales and continued customer interest in Amazon’s Prime memberships have significantly paid off. Even with a price hike last year to $99 annually for the service, membership numbers are climbing.

“When we raised the price of Prime membership last year, we were confident that customers would continue to find it the best bargain in the history of shopping,” said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. Worldwide paid membership grew 53 percent in 2014, with growth of 50 percent in the U.S.  Amazon paid billions last year for Prime shipping and investments in Prime Instant Video, Bezos said, in order to support the growth of the service.

What’s Ahead

With Prime in the spotlight for Amazon’s results, it seems the company is just getting started with what it plans to offer members.

Video will be an even bigger focus for Amazon in 2015. Amazon Studios will begin to produce and acquire original movies this year, which it intends to release in theaters and for early distribution through Prime Instant Video. That will put Amazon in direct competition with online-streaming service Netflix (NFLX), which has announced plans for a similar project (See also: Amazon Set to Chase Hollywood Dream).

Amazon will also expand on Prime Now, which focuses on its core business model. The service offers paid one-hour delivery and free two-hour delivery via a mobile app. Currently available only in Manhattan, Prime Now will expand to other cities this year.

For the first quarter of 2015, Amazon said net sales are expected to be between $20.9 billion and $22.9 billion.

While Amazon’s results received a warm reception in after-hours trading, investors should also note that, for full year 2014, Amazon reported a net loss of $241 million, or 52 cents per share, compared with net income of $274 million, or 59 cents per share, the year before. The company currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

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