Amazon Prime Surpasses 150 Million Members

"More people joined Prime during the fourth quarter of 2019 "than ever before," according to CEO Jeff Bezos.

Amazon's Prime business has grown to over 150 million subscribers, the e-commerce giant disclosed Thursday.

The offering, which gives members access to free two-day shipping and unlimited video and music streaming, received more signups during the fourth quarter of 2019 "than ever before," CEO Jeff Bezos said in the company's earnings report for the three-month period that ended in December. The company first disclosed Prime numbers in 2018, revealing that the service had hit 100 million members.

Amazon offers Prime for $119 per year or $13 per month. It also offers a video-only plan, Amazon Prime Video, for $9 per month. In recent years, Amazon has worked to bolster the benefits of subscribing to Prime, including offering free one-day delivery and free two-hour grocery delivery.

The Prime growth comes on the heels of a strong holiday quarter for Amazon, which saw a 21 percent increase in sales to $87.4 billion. The company also reported earnings of $6.47 per share.

For the full year, Amazon sales increased 20 percent to $280.5 billion and earnings increased to $23.01 per share.

One of Prime's perks is access to Amazon's library of original and licensed video programming, including the drama Jack Ryan and the comedies Fleabag and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Bezos said that "Prime members watched double the hours of original movies and TV shows" during the fourth quarter compared with last year. Production arm Amazon Studios also brought home seven Emmy Awards in September and two Golden Globes in January.

At 150 million members, Prime is inching closer to streaming video leader Netflix and its 167 million subscribers. Amazon doesn't break out how many of its Prime members take advantage of its video library, but did disclose on Thursday that its Fire TV operating system has more than 40 million active users and its Amazon Music streaming service has 55 million customers.