After-Hours News: Amazon.com Inc (AMZN), Google Inc (GOOGL), Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)

Shares of Amazon.com Inc. rallied more than 6 percent in extended-hours trading Thursday after the e-commerce giant's quarterly revenue beat forecasts, boosted by a 24 percent jump in sales in North America, its largest market. Meanwhile, shares of tech giant Google Inc. leaped more than 4 percent after the closing bell, despite missing Wall Street earnings and revenue expectations.

Software and technology company Microsoft topped estimates, driven by strong growth in hardware and cloud computing, which sent shares up more than 2 percent.

U.S. stocks closed sharply higher Thursday, with the Nasdaq composite closing at a record high, breaking a previous record set more than 15 years ago during the infamous dot-com bubble. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) climbed 20.42 points, or 0.11 percent, to close at 18,058.69. The Standard & Poor's 500 (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) added 4.97 points, or 0.24 percent, to finish at 2,112.93. The Nasdaq composite (INDEXSP:.INX) rose 20.89 points, or 0.41 percent, to end at 5,056.06.

Amazon Unveils Details About Cloud Computing Unit

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) turned in an earnings loss last quarter in line with estimates, while revenue topped forecasts. Meanwhile, the e-commerce giant revealed sales figures for its cloud computing unit, Amazon Web Services, for the first time.

The e-commerce company said it generated revenue of $1.57 billion in the first quarter, up from $1.05 billion last year. "The biggest positive takeaway from the earnings is the transparency on Amazon's Web services because that division has been one of the most rapidly growing parts of the company, and it's profitable," said Tuna Amobi, analyst at S&P Capital IQ.

The company reported a first-quarter loss of $57 million, or an earnings per share loss of 12 cents, on revenue of $22.72 billion, compared with a profit of $108 million, or earnings per share of 23 cents, on revenue of $19.7 billion.

Wall Street had expected Amazon to report a first-quarter loss of $34.53 million, or an earnings per share loss of 11 cents, on revenue of $22.4 billion, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Shares of Amazon rallied more than 6 percent in after-hours trading to $414. The stock has climbed more than 28 percent in the last 12 months.

Google Earnings Come Up Short, But Shares Jump 4%

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) issued earnings and revenue below expectations, while advertising figures also fell below forecasts. The company’s aggregate cost-per-clicks, or the average price for its online advertisements, declined 7 percent.

The company reported first-quarter net income of $3.59 billion, or earnings per share of $5.20, on revenue of $17.26 billion, compared with a profit of $3.45 billion, or earnings per share of $5.04, on sales of $15.42 billion a year ago.

However, analysts had expected the company to issue first-quarter net income of $3.66 billion, or earnings per share of $5.30, on revenue of $17.5 billion.

Google’s (GOOGL) Class A shares have gained nearly 5 percent in the last 12 months.

Microsoft’s Cloud Computing Sales Soar 106%

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) posted quarterly profit and sales that beat Wall Street's expectations on Thursday on strong growth in hardware and cloud computing. Sales in the company’s commercial cloud computing, which includes Office 365 and Azure services, surged 106 percent, offsetting declines in commercial Office and licensing segments.

The world's largest software company posted fiscal third-quarter net income of $4.99 billion, or earnings per share of 61 cents, on revenue of $21.73 billion, compared with $5.66 billion, or earnings per share of 68 cents, on revenue of $20.4 billion. Wall Street projected Microsoft to report fiscal third-quarter net income of $4.23 billion, or earnings per share of 51 cents, on revenue of $21.09 billion.

In the last three months, shares of Microsoft have lost 7.3 percent, but shares have gained 8.6 percent in the last 12 months.