Amazon hikes Prime membership fees in US, cites rising wages and costs

For the holiday quarter, the company earned $14.3 billion, double its net income from a year earlier.

Amazon.com Inc on Thursday said it was raising the price of its annual U.S. Prime subscriptions by 17%, as it looks to offset higher costs for shipping and wages that it expects to persist this year.

Shares rose as much as 17% in extended trade as Amazon also beat profit expectations for the holiday season. If shares increase on Friday by that much, it would be the stock's biggest percentage gain since October 2009 and grow founder Jeff Bezos' wealth by about $20 billion.

For the holiday quarter, Amazon earned $14.3 billion, double its net income from a year earlier. That included