• Forbes/AP, Wednesday, April 25, 2007 12:37 PM

Amazon's announced yesterday that its first-quarter net income more than doubled, and analysts pointed to an investment in excess of $1 billion in "technology and content" in 2005 and 2006 as a contributing factor. Worldwide, sales of books, CDs and other media products jumped 26% year-over-year. Sales of electronics and other merchandise rose 48%, and sales of so-called soft goods--which include shoes, jewelry and apparel--more than doubled.

Executives would not say how Unbox--the movie-download service launched last year--performed in the quarter, and they declined to comment on rumors that the company will soon launch a digital music download service.

Analysts have been critical of the extent to which Amazon Prime, the company's free-shipping loyalty program, cut into earnings in the past. But that, too, may be turning around. In a conference call, CEO Jeff Bezos said Amazon Prime helped North American sales grow faster than international sales. Analysts noted that the company improved tools for third-party merchants to sell goods on its Web site and bulked up fulfillment and call centers.

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