AMAZON.COM, the world's largest online retailer, reported revenue that missed estimates and posted its first quarterly net loss since 2003, dragged down by weakness at LivingSocial.com, which it partly owns. The third-quarter net loss was $274 million, or 60 cent a share, compared with net income of $63 million, or 14 cent, a year earlier, the Seattle-based company said in a statement last night.
Sales rose 27 per cent to $13.8 billion, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $13.9 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Amazon’s expanded line-up of Kindle devices to challenge Apple in the tablet market – expected to reach $63.2 billion this year, according to researcher DisplaySearch – is facing competition from new machines from Microsoft and Google. Amazon’s sales growth slowed to 37 per cent in September from 41 per cent in August, ChannelAdvisor Corp said earlier this month.
“We’ve seen a little bit of moderation in September and some more trouble in the global economy,” said Daniel Kurnos, an analyst at Benchmark in Florida. The shares fell as much as 8.4 per cent to $204.17 in extended trading after the report. The stock had lost 2.4 per cent to $222.92 at the close in New York, and had gained 29 per cent so far this year.
– (Bloomberg)
