Amazon up 7% following earnings beat

Amazon reported first-quarter earnings after the bell on Thursday, sending shares up 7% in after-hours trading after its significantly better-than-expected report.

The company reported earnings per share of $3.27, well above the $1.26 that analysts had been expecting. Revenue was $51.04 billion, above the $49.78 billion that Wall Street forecast and a 43% increase from the same time last year.

The growth was driven by its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing business, which was up 49% year-over-year, accounting for $5.4 billion in revenue.

“AWS lets developers do more and be nimbler, and it continues to get even better every day,” said CEO Jeff Bezos, in a statement. “That’s why you’re seeing this remarkable acceleration in AWS growth, now for two quarters in a row.”

Amazon also saw strong growth at home, up 46% in North America across its businesses.

Shares closed at $1,1517.96 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $735 billion.