Amazon.com says second-quarter earnings fall 58 percent
7/25/2006SEATTLE Amazon.com Inc. said today that second-quarter earnings plunged nearly 58 percent, missing Wall Street expectations, as the company focused on investing in a shipping deal and new technologies.
For the three months ended June 30, the Seattle-based Internet retailer reported earnings of $22 million, or 5 cents per share, compared with earnings of $52 million, or 12 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.
Sales for the quarter were $2.14 billion, a 22 percent increase over sales of $1.75 billion in the year-earlier period. The company said sales would have grown 23 percent if not for the negative impact of foreign exchange rates.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting second-quarter earnings of 7 cents per share on revenue of $2.1 billion.
In a statement, Amazon.com Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said the company was focused on investing in Amazon Prime, which for $79 per year gives people unlimited two-day free shipping, and new technology initiatives.
Amazon.com shares fell 72 cents or 2.1 percent to close at $33.59 in regular trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Results were released after the markets closed. In after-hours trading, shares were down an additional $3.37.
In the past 52 weeks, shares have traded between $31.52 and $50.
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