Amazon.com Stock Hits Record on Big Earnings

Shares of Amazon.com briefly surged 11 percent in after-hours trading to a record high after the online retailer reported strong financial results for the fourth quarter.

our editor recommends

Oprah's Book Club 2.0 Gets Big Boost on Amazon

Amazon.com's Kindle Fire to Offer Pre-Installed LoveFilm Streaming Service in U.K.

Hands On: Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite (Review)

Revenue rose 22 percent to $21.3 billion in the quarter, though net income fell from $177 million in last year's frame to $97 million in the most recent fourth quarter.

Amazon.com listed several of the past year's highlights, and many were related to media and entertainment.

The company's own Kindle Fire was the best-selling tablet at its site, and CEO Jeff Bezos boasted that "after five years, eBooks is a multibillion-dollar category for us and growing fast -- up approximately 70 percent last year. In contrast, our physical book sales experienced the lowest December growth rate in our 17 years as a bookseller, up just 5 percent."

The company also listed as a highlight the launch of AutoRip, a service that gives customers free MP3 versions of CDs they purchase.

Amazon also said its digital media selection grew to 23 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, books, apps and games in 2012, whereas it had 19 million at the end of 2011.

Another highlight was a licensing agreement to stream content from Turner Broadcasting, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution and A&E Networks, Amazon said.

Shares of Amazon sunk 6 percent to $260.35 during the regular session Tuesday, though the loss was erased after the closing bell.