Amazon confounds expectations with third-quarter profit surge

The online retailer’s shares spiked 10% in after-hours trading as investors reacted to the $79m third-quarter profit reaped in part from its cloud computing servicesAmazon beat Wall Street expectations on Thursday, reporting a surprise profit, helped by rapid growth in its cloud computing business. Shares in the online retailer spiked 10% in after-hours trading as investors reacted to news that the company had posted a $79m profit for the third quarter. Analysts had expected Amazon to post