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Amazon Results Miss Estimate, Weak Outlook For Holiday Quarter; Stock Tanks(dpa-AFX International Compact Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) SEATTLE (dpa-AFX) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN) Thursday reported a third-quarter loss that widened from a year ago, as the online retailer continued to expend on new businesses and technologies, even as sales climbed 20 percent. Results for the quarter fell short of Wall Street estimates. Moving forward, Amazon provided some weak sales guidance for the holiday quarter and warned of an operating loss, sending its shares plunging 10 percent in after-hours trade on the Nasdaq. Amazon has been posting successive losses despite sales growth, as it spends to broaden its offering and ramp up the online infrastructure. Investors have been somewhat tolerant of its losses as Amazon is perceived to be using its cash to prop up long-term growth. But the weak guidance has somewhat dampened investors. Amazon, based in Seattle, Washington, posted a quarterly net loss of $437 million or $0.95 per share, compared with a loss of $41 million or $0.09 per share last year. On average, 35 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated a loss of $0.74 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items. Sales for the third quarter climbed 20 percent to $20.58 billion from $17 billion in the prior year. Forty analysts had a consensus sales estimate of $20.84 billion for the quarter. Operating loss for the quarter was $544 million, compared with a loss of $25 million last year. In July, Amazon had forecast third-quarter operating loss of $810 million to $410 million. Operating expenses for the quarter increased to $21.1 billion from $17.1 billion last year. For the fourth quarter, Amazon expects revenue of $27.3 billion to $30.3 billion, while analysts currently anticipate $30.89 billion. In September, Amazon announced new Kindle e-reader models, and also the Fire smartphone that wasn't received well by consumers. Earlier Amazon agreed to buy Twitch Interactive Inc, a video-game streaming service, for $970 million. In other developments, Amazon was reported to be developing its own software for placing advertisements online that will help it compete with Google Inc (GOOG, GOOGL). Amazon, which has good patronage for books, has been involved with publisher Hachette Book Group over e-book pricing, and has halted preorders of some titles and delayed delivery of others. Amazon closed Thursday at $313.18, up $0.21 or 0.07%, on a volume of 4.8 million shares. In after hours, the stock dropped $34.86 or 11.13% at $278.32. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX |