AMAZON

[alingtonsky]

Amazon.com

Fri Jul 25, 2008 12:43am BST
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) shares rose as high as 17 percent on Thursday as the online retailer's strong second-quarter revenue and profit relieved a wary Wall Street that has been bruised by recent disappointing results from consumer companies.

Some analysts calculated that Amazon's earnings actually fell below Wall Street consensus estimates, but most gave them credit for an unexpected gain related to the sale of its European DVD rental business and slightly lower taxes.

"Overall we think this was an outstanding quarter for Amazon given extraordinarily low levels of consumer confidence in the U.S. and the UK," wrote Bernstein Research analyst Jeffrey Lindsay, who rates shares "Outperform."

Deutsche Bank analyst Jeetil Patel forecast that shares would rise on Thursday, a day after Amazon's results were released, because many on Wall Street had been expecting grim news -- whether higher operating expenses, significantly lower gross profit margins or weakening revenue projections.

Instead, the world's largest Internet retailer posted a 41 percent rise in revenues and earnings that beat Wall Street forecasts, even excluding a one-time gain from an asset sale.

"The company is clearly bucking the slowing consumer spending trends experienced among other companies," said Patel, who has a "Buy" rating on shares.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNewsUS/idUKN2430229520080724

 

[alingtonsky]

August 11, 2008 6:36 PM ET
Amazon shares rose $7.58, or 9.4 percent, to $88.09. In the past year, the stock has traded between $61.20 and $101.09.

In a client note, Citi Investment Research analyst Mark Mahaney said that while Amazon hasn't divulged sales of Kindle devices, he now believes it will sell 380,000 units — double the 190,000 he had previously expected.

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=AP&date=20080811&id=9012610

 

[alingtonsky]

Amazon Opens 'Block Store' in the Cloud

Web services provider pushes new "block" system for storage cloud.

...

August 21, 2008"The real impact is that organizations of all sizes now may choose work loads (that is portions of their data or certain office locations) where cloud storage is appropriate from a cost/availability/risk perspective," Russell said, adding "choice is always good for the industry."

http://www.internetnews.com/storage/article.php/3767056/Amazon+Opens+Block+Store+in+the+Cloud.htm

.

 

[alingtonsky]

Amazon, attrezzata per battere la recessione
December 9, 2008, 12:01AM EST
Amazon: Armed to Beat the Recession

....
Bacon was using a new feature, released by Amazon.com (AMZN) on Dec. 3, that lets users take mobile photos of items they want to buy, store them in an online shopping cart, and purchase them whenever they want—typically at a discount—via the online retailer.

Some analysts have raised their outlook on Amazon, the leading U.S. online retail site, saying the company will be in good shape when consumer spending rebounds. "When we come out of this and there is less competition, their business is going to grow at an accelerated rate," says Scott Devitt, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus.
Devitt cites Amazon's scale, strong reputation, and broad product offerings as the reason. But like other analysts, Devitt is also enamored of Amazon's large stake in research and development, which has led to new, technology-driven customer services like the iPhone application. Since its launch as an online bookstore in 1995, Amazon has widened its selection to span electronics, apparel, digital media, and numerous other retail categories. Along the way, it has also implemented technology to make online shopping easier. "Amazon has spent almost $4 billion on R&D over the past 10 years, which is vastly greater than the investment by its online competitors," says Cowen & Co. analyst Jim Friedland. This investment has been "a key factor in gaining share of consumers' wallets," he says.

"We like to do a lot of experiments," says Amazon spokesman Craig Berman. "Sometimes they work, and sometimes they don't work."
Limited-Time Specials

Lately they've been working. In recent months, Amazon has unveiled several new ways to shop, all powered by high-tech design. Its Universal Wish List feature includes a browser "widget," a button users can click when they see a product they want anywhere on the Web, creating a list they can retrieve via Amazon. The Gold Box highlights special deals by the day, hour, or availability. And a new feature for the holiday season, "Windowshop View," lets visitors browse products in a sleek Adobe Flash-based viewer that uses a 3D-simulated environment to capture the look of walking down an aisle at a toy store.
"Amazon has done a good job of adding innovative elements to the site," says Ken Cassar, vice-president of industry insights at Nielsen Online.
Stifel Nicolaus' Devitt rates Amazon's stock a "buy" with a target price of 63. Michael Souers, an analyst at Standard & Poor's who also rates the stock a buy, expects earnings of $1.30 a share in 2008 and $1.63 in 2009, compared with $1.21 in 2007.

http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2008/tc2008128_586651.htm?site=cbs&campaign_id=djm

 

[alingtonsky]

9:20 a.m. EST Dec. 26, 2008
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Amazon.com Inc. said Friday that the 2008 holiday season "finished as its best ever," in spite of grim results across much of the overall retail sector.


The online retail giant said it sold more than 6.3 million items worldwide on its peak day, Dec. 15, or the equivalent of "a record-breaking 72.9 items per second." However, the company did not issue any revenue estimates or any other form of financial data.
Amazon's statement came during an overall slump in holiday sales amid global economic turmoil. Data released by MasterCard Inc.'s SpendingPulse unit showed total retail sales, excluding automobiles, fell over the year-earlier period by 5.5% in November and 8% in December through Christmas Eve. See full story on holiday retail sales.
Amazon (AMZN) said its top sellers in consumer electronics included Samsung Electronics Ltd.'s (SSNLF) 52-inch LCD high-definition television, Apple Inc.'s iPod touch and Acer Inc.'s (ACEIY) Wii console and peripheral items dominated the top sellers.
The company also said it had shipped more than 99% of orders in time to meet holiday deadlines.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/sto...5-49F4-B818-68BA53FBD755&dist=SecEditorsPicks

 

[alingtonsky]

January 5, 2009 7:10 AM EST

JP Morgan upgrades Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) from Neutral to Overweight, saying the company will continue to gain market share.

http://www.streetinsider.com/Upgrad...+Amazon.com+(AMZN)+to+Overweight/4270846.html

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aPcFsDYs35lM

 

[alingtonsky]

Earnings Preview: Amazon to report 4th-qtr results

January 27, 2009 12:

NEW YORK (AP) - Amazon.com Inc. reports its earnings for the fourth quarter on Thursday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period.

....

BY THE NUMBERS: Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, expect fourth-quarter income of 39 cents per share on $6.44 billion in revenue.
In October, Amazon predicted fourth-quarter revenue between $6 billion to $7 billion.
ANALYST TAKE: In a recent note to investors, Jefferies & Co. analyst Youssef H. Squali said that while the company reported its "best ever" holiday season, "visibility into margins remains limited and aggressive discounts/promotions may have eaten into profits/margins."
Squali expects Amazon to earn 38 cents per share on $6.41 billion in revenue. He rates the stock "Hold" with a $54 price target.
Meanwhile, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster said in a note to clients that although the company "is the clear leader among Internet retailers, taking significant market share, we believe that the difficult consumer spending headwinds will continue to pressure growth and margins."
Munster rates the stock "Neutral" with a $45 price target.
WHAT'S AHEAD: With consumers continuing to cut back on spending during the recession, it remains to be seen how Amazon will fare in the first quarter.
Munster thinks the company will predict 2009 sales that are flat with 2008 or grow as much as 15 percent.

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=AP&date=20090127&id=9550534

 

[alingtonsky]

Risultati mostruosi di Amazon.com che straccia le attese sugli utili (48 cents per azione contro 39 mediamente previsti)

Amazon Crushes Earnings, Issues Strong Guidance (AMZN)

January 29, 2009 4:20 PM


....
Amazon said it earned $225 million, or 52 cents a share in the fourth quarter, on sales of $6.7 billion, against a profit of 48 cents a share on a topline of $5.67 in the fourth quarter of 2007.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a profit of 39 cents per share on $6.44 billion in revenue.

Shares of Amazon [AMZN ) leaped about 8 percent in extended trading Thursday. The stock finished the regular Nasdaq session less than 1 percent lower at an even $50.
The online retailer said in late December that the holiday season was its "best ever," ...

http://www.cnbc.com/id/28915176/site/14081545?__source=yahoo%7Cheadline%7Cquote%7Ctext%7C&par=yahoo

http://www.alleyinsider.com/2009/1/amazon-earnings-preview-cautious-optimism-amzn

 

[alingtonsky]

AMZN, Una bella sorpresa sul Nasdaq : utili trimestrali di 52 cents ( 39 erano attesi)
anche i ricavi hanno superato il consensus


Amazon surprises Wall Street with earnings gain

5:04 p.m. EST Jan. 29, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Amazon.com reported a surprise gain in fourth-quarter earnings thanks to strong holiday sales, beating the consensus view of Wall Street that had been predicting a decline in earnings for the period.


Shares of Amazon (AMZN) jumped more than 12% in after-hours trading
Thursday following the report, which assuaged fears that the company would have to cut prices drastically to maintain sales in the slowing economy. The company also issued a better-than-expected forecast for the current period.
"It was far better than we were expecting," said Jeff Lindsay of Sanford Bernstein. "It seems like they haven't had to discount nearly as much as we feared."
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, the company reported earnings of $225 million, or 52 cents a share .....
Revenue grew 18% to $6.7 billion -- beating the $6.48 billion predicted by Wall Street.
The company said operating income grew slightly to $272 million from $271 million, leading to an operating margin of 4%. This was down from an operating margin of 4.8% in the last fourth quarter but higher than the 3.6% margin predicted by analysts.
Free cash flow for the period was up 16% to $1.36 billion.
In a statement, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos also noted "unusually strong demand" for the company's Kindle e-book reader during the quarter. But the company refused to divulge any specific figures.
Sales in North America were up 18% to $3.63 billion. International sales grew 31% -- excluding the impact of currency rates.
Sales of media products, which include books, DVDs and music, grew 9% to $3.64 billion. Worldwide sales of electronics and other general merchandise sales grew 31% to $2.89 billion for the quarter.
Amazon also issued a stronger-than-expected sales forecast for the first quarter. The company expects revenue to come in between $4.53 billion and $4.93 billion. Analysts were expecting revenue of $4.54 billion for the period


http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Sto...x?guid={A2452F18-E138-4E3F-8FB9-3C30D35305F6}

 

[alingtonsky]

AMZN sbaraglia i ribassisti. DB alza il prezzo obbiettivo a $65 e conferma il consiglio "Buy" su Amazon

Amazon Shares Crushing the Shorts After Q4 Results

January 30th, 2009
...

This is now the fourth stock this quarter where shorts picked a fight where there was no reason to do so. It happened with IBM , Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG) and now Amazon. If you are an active trader, you have to avoid betting against the stocks that the market desperately needs a good number from. You can see by today’s spike that many short traders got their hands burned again. The company does have overhead resistance in the $62-66 area.

http://www.dividend.com/blog/?p=5461

Jan. 30, 2009
....
Amazon's 4Q results were better than street estimates and Amazon is one of the few large-cap companies delivering strong top-line growth, which will likely help maintain a premium multiple (scarcity value for growth investors)," wrote Justin Post of Merrill Lynch in a note to clients on Friday.

Jeetil Patel of Deutsche Bank raised his price target on the stock to $65 from $57, noting that "while the economic environment is terrible, Amazon's business model and strategy continues to outperform its retail AND Internet brethren."
...

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/amazon-shares-jump-surprise-earnings/story.aspx?guid=%7B15ED79E7-682C-43A3-BB5F-457E64EE7AC1%7D