Amazon.com US-Analystenmeinungen und Nachrichten - 500 Beiträge pro Seite

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Im Folgenden News zu Amazon und Einschätzungen von US-Analysten.

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Worldly Investor News, 12/03/2001 09:12

Stock Review and Outlook


by worldlyinvestor.com Staff
----------------------------------------
Amazon.com (AMZN): Amazon said it sold more than 8.9 million items since November 9. This sales data suggests that the company has some pretty healthy momentum heading into the Christmas season. But will heavy discounting adversely impact margins, and cause the company to fall short of analyst estimates (of an 8 cent loss) in the December quarter? It`s simply too early to tell.

With that in mind, we continue to believe that Amazon is a winner. The company`s proven ability to drive site traffic, as well as recent efforts to cut costs leads us to believe that this is a good entry point for investors with at least a 12 to 24 month time horizon.

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Das Delight-O-Meter, das die Anzahl der über die weltweiten Amazon-Seiten bestellten Artikel anzeigt, ist übrigens auf der US-Seite von Amazon zu sehen/beobachten (http://www.amazon.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow ugc noopener">http://www.amazon.com).

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Amazon Purchases Egghead Web Site



AP Online: Tuesday , December 04, 2001



SEATTLE, Dec 04, 2001 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- Amazon.com has purchased some assets of Egghead.com, which filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year, for $6.1 million in cash.

Amazon purchased the company`s Web site, intellectual property and product information, among other assets, on Nov. 26, Amazon spokeswoman Patty Smith said Tuesday. The Internet retailer plans to relaunch Egghead`s Web site, she added.

Currently, those who visit Egghead are directed to Amazon`s electronics store, but Smith said a site tailored to Egghead will launch later this year.

Egghead, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based online technology retailer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a San Francisco court in August. The once promising dot-com had lost more than $345 million since its inception in 1994 as a technology products auction site called Onsale.com. Stand-alone Egghead stores had also existed since 1984.

Egghead`s stock, which once traded at more than $100 per share, has been delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.

In August, Fry`s Electronics agreed to buy Egghead`s Web site and other assets for $10 million, but that deal fell through in October.

Smith said Amazon was interested in Egghead because of its well-known and well-respected brand name, and strong, loyal customer base. As part of the deal, Amazon will acquire customer information about Egghead, Smith said.

But Amazon will be barred from using that information for anything other than Egghead transactions unless the customer agrees to let Amazon have the customer information, Smith said.

Smith said Amazon - also a promising dot-com that has yet to turn a profit - was not concerned that it would have the same problems with its newly acquired Egghead assets that put Egghead out of business.

"I think it`s sort of an apples and oranges comparison," she said. "Amazon electronics has done very well for us."

Shares in Amazon.com were up $1.44 to close at $11.93 Tuesday in trading on the Nasdaq. In after-hours trading, shares were up an additional 4 cents, to $11.97.

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JAGnotes, 12/05/2001 07:47

Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown Inc. (AMAT, CMOS, LRCX, BRKS, LTXX, NVLS, TER, D, CMLS, F, EK, AOL, CPQ, HAL, AMZN, EE, LU, AFCI, ABS, PCS, EMLX, SUR, CCE, INHL, DV)

AMZN: reit buy - acquiring URLs and brand names of busted companies for about $7 million cash, picked up both egghead.com and ourhouse.com brand, will re-launch egghead brand soon, item volumes were strong on 12/4

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JAGnotes, 12/05/2001 08:03

Lehman Brothers Inc. (CD, DRI, NSM, ADVP, ESRX, CMX, DFG, FBF, ABS, AMZN, AIV, ILA, EBAY, FITB, GAP, PCLN, RFMD, FON, PCS, PKS, SFY)


AMZN: reit market perform - for 2002, more profitability progress is expected; top-line growth is uncertain

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JAGnotes, 12/05/2001 11:37

U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray (AMZN)


AMZN: reit buy - we believe operating profits in Q4 will be higher than expected by the Street and are likely to be in the $10 million to $15 million range; we are increasing our Q4 operating profit estimate from $8.9 million to $13 million and our Q4 EPS estimate from ($0.05) to ($0.04). Target $15

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ON24, 12/05/2001 12:26

Audio:Analyst downgrades AMZN on valuation, still likes company


Wells Fargo Van Kasper lowers Amazon.com to Market Perform, while Lehman Brothers introduces 2002 estimates for the company.

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JAGnotes, 12/05/2001 15:26

Prudential Securities, Inc. (AMZN, EBAY, HOMS, PCLN, TVLY, YHOO)


AMZN: reit hold - We are introducing our 2003 estimates for Amazon.com. We are projecting full-year 2003 pro forma EPS/(LPS) of ($0.30), and full-year 2003 revenue of $3.9 billion (which equates to a 13% year-over-year growth). Target $10

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Dec 05, 2001 (The Orange County Register - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News via COMTEX) -- Jeff Bezos doesn`t remember much about the December day three years ago when a financial analyst predicted that Amazon.com`s stock price would reach $400.

As founder and chief executive of what has become the most prominent online retailer, Bezos was more concerned with adding customers than with the company`s stock price, lack of profits, or the dot-com hype that was then reaching a crescendo.

"Things are never as good as they seem and never as bad as they seem," shrugged the bright-eyed Bezos over waffles and coffee during a stop in Los Angeles earlier this week. "When our stock was at $100, we had 14 million shoppers. Now, our stock is (around) $10 and we have 23 million shoppers."

Amazon`s stock, which was at about $240 in December 1998 when Merrill Lynch analyst Henry Blodget predicted it would reach $400, reached that target (adjusted for splits) within a month. The call made Blodget one of the gurus of the dot-com craze.

How times have changed.

Blodget, 35, announced last month that he would take a buyout and leave Merrill Lynch. And Bezos, 37, is finally talking about reaching profitability.

The 7-year-old Amazon, which closed at $11.93 Tuesday, is still losing money. It reported a net loss of $572.4million on revenue of $2billion in the first nine months this year, compared with the year-ago loss of $866.3million on revenue of $1.8billion.

Bezos has cut costs, including laying off 1,300 employees. He`s sticking to an October announcement that Amazon expects a quarterly pro forma operating profit by the end of the year. Its books, music and video divisions have been profitable since mid-2000.

Amazon has done its share to thrust e-commerce into every household with a PC, and then some. This year, it partnered up with a number of very nondot-coms, including Target, Borders and Circuit City. It also outsourced some fulfillment and distribution work to Ingram Micro Inc. in Santa Ana, a move the e-tail giant once pooh- poohed.

Bezos sat down with the Register to talk about the future of online retail and Amazon.com while in the middle of an annual trip to all company-owned distribution centers.

QUESTION: In late October, Amazon lowered its fourth-quarter sales-growth forecast to flat to 10 percent, from the previous 10 percent to 20 percent. Now, two weeks into the 2001 holiday shopping season, has anything changed?

ANSWER: "It`s very hard to know until we see it ourselves, especially in light of the economy and Sept. 11," said Bezos, unwilling to pinpoint a precise figure.

Instead, he pointed to Amazon`s own online sales tracker, the "Delight-O-Meter," which found an increase of 700,000 items sold over the Thanksgiving weekend from last year.

This, however, doesn`t predict profit or reflect actual dollar sales, he said. Used goods, from which Amazon collects a small percentage of the sale, are also included. Amazon remains mum about actual dollar figures.

Q. Why was it so hard for pure online retailers to survive and make money? After all, going online cuts down on rent, employees and capital equipment.

A. "One of the things people missed is that this is a fixed-cost business. You need a large base of customers so you can spread the costs.

"For example, if you develop the one-click shopping software, it costs the same whether you have 23 million customers or 23,000. The fact that we have substantial scale is very important to us. That`s why we pursued (customer) growth first."

With its 23 million customers, Amazon can do things that others would have a hard time making money on. A new feature is 30 percent off all books of more than $20 -- something the company couldn`t afford to do if it were smaller.

Q. What`s become of the thought that once brick-and-mortar retailers got their acts together, they`d take over the Internet?

A. "In our business, some of the best of breed, like Borders, are now partnering with us. What they`re finding is that this business is harder to do than originally thought," Bezos said. "They`re looking for more than a fulfillment outsource. We have so much traffic, and we can point (customers) to our partners."

On the other hand, he added, the offline relationships stemmed from requests of Amazon`s customers. "One of the things customers wanted is (to fulfill) acute need," he said. Today, for example, you can order a new stereo from Amazon and pick it up at the local Circuit City.

Bezos doesn`t envision Amazon as becoming the online Mall of America or opening a brick-and-mortar store of its own. "It`s a hard business. We don`t know how to run a brick and mortar. We`re much more interested in sticking to what we know. The way to participate in the brick and mortar is through partnerships with Circuit City. There`s very strong momentum in this business. We have about 30 partners."

Q. After years of sticking to your own distribution system, you recently added outsource partners, including Ingram Micro and the unrelated LaVergne, Tenn.-based Ingram Books. Why the change?

A. Traditionally, he said, distributors like Ingram Micro have done a great job at what they do. But what they do is ship to large customers, like big electronics and computer stores, and not to individual customers.

"We do a tremendous amount of fulfillment because we do it the best in the world. We`re testing it out with Ingram Books. We`ll do the majority still," he said. "But it also depends on the product category. When we launched our computer store, we chose Ingram Micro because that`s what they`re good at. But nobody ships a digital camera or a $99 DVD player better than we do."

Q. Now that many dot-com e-tailers are gone, who`s your competition?

A. "Many have come, and many have gone. But I always thought that our strongest competition is where people shop," or the brick-and-mortar retailers, he said. "In 1999, when pure-play Internet retailers were everywhere, they still made up a very small percentage of all retail sales."

Online retail was approximately one-half of 1 percent of all holiday sales in 1999, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

This year, it`s expected to be about 5.3 percent.

Q. What are this season`s shopping trends?

A. "People are buying," Bezos said. "But what they`re doing is buying at lower prices, like $99 DVD players are flying out of our stores."

Free shipping on all orders over $99 has helped. The offer ended Tuesday, but limited free-shipping deals, such as in the electronics department, will be around for another week or so. By late Tuesday, the Delight-O-Meter recorded 21.7 million items sold since Nov. 9. Last year, the company passed the 25 million mark Dec. 13.

Customers are buying supplies for cocooning, which goes along with a belief that people are staying at home more after the Sept. 11 attacks. George Foreman grills are hot. So are audio books and kitchen supplies.

There`s also a 40 percent increase in gifts ordered from personal wish lists, which lets people tell the world what they want for Christmas. And the number of customers with wish lists has doubled from a year ago to 5 million. Bezos` own list includes a microscope from Irvine-based Meade Instruments Corp.

Q. What do Amazon customers have to look forward to?

A. Customers can now get a glimpse of a book`s cover, its inside flaps, and sometimes the table of contents. "That`s something we couldn`t do a few years ago because of bandwidth limitations," Bezos said.

"Traditional retail is, in many ways, a real estate business. Location, location, location. Our (mantra) is technology, technology, technology. Processor speeds double every 18 months. Bandwidth is getting twice as cheap.

"With those incredible reductions, we`ll be able to spend five times less on bandwidth as we do today but have 50 times more bandwidth to play with. If you think about all the research and development technology going in, this is still Day One as far as e-commerce is concerned."


By Tamara Chuang To see more of The Orange County Register, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.ocregister.com

(c) 2001, The Orange County Register, Calif.

[Churro]

Hi,


STOCKWATCH Amazon Q4 loss/shr narrowed to 7 cents from 12 - Robertson Stephens

Amazon.com Inc`s fourth-quarter loss per share estimate was narrowed to 7 cents from 12 cents, with sales left unchanged at $1.02 billion, by Robertson Stephens analysts.

The forecast revision is based on the company`s improved gross margin plus ongoing expense controls not an increase in sales, the analysts said.

"We believe the potential for significant revenue upside - greater than ten percent - remains unlikely given the revenue share structure of Amazon`s service agreements and growing used business," the analysts said.

At 1.04 pm in New York, Amazon was down $0.38, or 3.55%, at 10.33, while the Nasdaq composite was down 43.42 points, or 2.19%, at 1,939.66.


http://www.ananova.com/business/story/sm_478543.html?menu=bu…



churro

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US Nov unique intertnet visitors 104.8 mln, led by AOL - Jupiter Media Metrix



AFX-Asia: Wednesday , December 26, 2001



LOS ANGELES (AFX) - The number of unique US visitors to the internet in November was 104.811 mln, led by AOL Timer Warner Inc`s network which saw 83. 843 mln visitors, according to a report by Jupiter Media Metrix that combines data for users accessing the internet from home and work. Microsoft Corp`s sites including MSN took second place in terms of unique visitors during November, booking 74.782 mln visitors, followed by Yahoo! Inc, which saw 71.976 mln visitors. Internet properties rounding out the top five were Terra Lycos SA with 38. 299 mln visitors and Vivendi Universal which saw 35.793 mln visitors during the month. Amazon.com Inc came in seventh in the survey, with 30.326 mln visitors, while eBay Inc booked 28.3646 mln visitors. mtp/lj NNN

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Eine schon etwas ältere Analyse, dafür aber ziemlich ausführlich.

3.12.01
von
RBC Capital Markets

The Delight-O-Meter Keeps Delighting:
Amazon’s unit count now approaches 19 million items since debuting on November 14 with more than 2.5 million items ordered as of November
9. As a comparison, 19 million items was not reached until December 6 last year, even with the meter’s earlier start. Seemingly from a unit count
perspective, Amazon would appear on track with its guidance of flat to 10% revenue growth. However, correlation from unit count to revenue
remains difficult due to the inclusion of third-party transactions and items ordered from the Toysrus.com and Target stores into the
Delight-O-Meter as well as the changing dynamics of the business model (increased importance of services and used item sales). So while we are
encouraged by the trends here, and believe the company is on track to reach our estimated revenue of $1.02 billion (up 5%) and EPS loss of $0.08,
without an average price per unit ordered, making a more definite statement proves challenging.

Keep an eye on the results following the end of free shipping on December 4. Last year, we saw order levels temper with the end of free
shipping on December 17. While this may have been a reflection of the general peak in online sales that occurs two weeks before Christmas, we
believe it is important to watch results when free shipping on orders of more than $99 ends in two days. We would expect results to remain strong
with approximately two weeks of peak online shopping left. Our sense is that we could also see strong order flow around the 22 as late shoppers
could be a nice driver of traffic. The early end to free shipping (compared to last year), should also prove beneficial to margins.

Key partners have shown a significant pick up in visitors since the week of October 22. According to Nielsen NetRatings, three of the top
five fastest growing e-commerce sites from the week of October 22 to November 19 were important Amazon partners. These included
CircuitCity.com (up 243%), Toys R Us (up 199%), and Target (up 177%). Meanwhile, Amazon, saw a 38% increase in unique audience itself
according to the same survey. Additionally, the fastest growing categories over the same period were largely in line with the above-mentioned
partners and included toys and games (up 116%), consumer electronics (up 90%), and home and garden (up 63%). Books, music, and videos
showed only a modest increase of approximately 4% over the same period.

December 1’s circular included hot products from key categories. The Amazon insert in this Sunday’s paper (December 1) contained hot
products from many of the key categories this Christmas season. Included were in-demand items such as DVD players and packages, HDTV
projection sets, and digital cameras. This was in addition to products in other sought after categories from top brands such as Apple, Braun,
Calphalon, Kitchenaid, Nokia (NYSE: NOK; SB-Agg; $23.01), and Riedel. The selection was likely reflective of the importance of consumer
electronics, tools, and kitchens categories as drivers for fourth quarter growth versus the traditional books, music, and videos business. These
represent important categories this season for for not only Amazon and online sales, but for retail in general.

Stock Opinion:
We are rate the AMZN shares Buy-Aggressive. If we considered a mature operating margin of 11%-12% on our $3.3 billion 2002 revenue
estimate (hypothetical, not reality), fully taxed EPS of $0.46 supports a $14 valuation. This represents a 30 multiple, which is in line with its
long-term growth rate potential, and in line with traditional retail valuations.

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Challenges remain for Amazon after Q4



National Post: Thursday , January 03, 2002



(By Ross Snel): NEW YORK - Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN/NASDAQ) ended 2001 intact -- a silent rebuttal to naysayers who predicted the company would face a cash crunch or even go under last year.

At the same time, many analysts say the Seattle, Wash., online retailer, buoyed by decent holiday sales, is likely to meet its own goal of pro forma operating profitability and its fourth-quarter guidance.

That might seem like reason for cheer. But Amazon -- likely the most closely watched experiment in online retailing -- still has challenges ahead, observers say.

Some also question Amazon`s market valuation, which has jumped higher during the past two months. The company`s stock finished yesterday`s session at US$10.96, up 57% from its closing level of US$6.98 on Oct. 31.

"We are not convinced that the company`s ability to achieve its (fourth-quarter) guidance sufficiently answers our longer-term questions surrounding Amazon`s evolving business model, the company`s profitability potential or justifies its current valuation," wrote Lauren Cooks Levitan, a Robertson Stephens analyst, in a recent research note. The analyst has a "market perform" rating on Amazon shares.

Among the concerns voiced by Ms. Levitan and others: revenue stagnation in its book, music and video business, potential conflicts between its used and service businesses and new product sales, and continued losses in its electronics and international businesses.

As Amazon deals with such issues, it must still make progress toward company-wide profitability.

The company`s goal of generating fourth-quarter pro forma operating profits, which Ms. Levitan and other analysts expect it to meet, is merely a first step, observers say.

"This goal in the fourth quarter, it`s really kind of a funny number that means things only in press releases," said David Kathman of Morningstar Inc.

The measure excludes the cash interest payments Amazon makes on its more than US$2-billion in debt, as well as non-cash charges like goodwill amortization.

A far more important goal for Amazon, said Mr. Kathman, would be generating enough profit to cover its interest payments. During the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2001, Amazon shelled out US$110.99-million on interest, according to a regulatory filing.

Mr. Kathman noted that growth has stalled in Amazon`s core U.S. books, music and video unit, which grew just 1% in the second quarter and fell 12% in the third.

With that stagnation, Amazon`s revenue growth is coming from its international and electronics, tools and kitchen, or ETK, businesses. Yet Mr. Kathman worries those businesses could hit a wall too.

Amazon spokesman Bill Curry declined to comment on any analysts` comments. But he noted that Amazon`s main priority during the past two years has been operating efficiency. Amazon has cut costs, he said, and that will allow it to do things to drive revenue, such as offer lower prices.

Morningstar`s Mr. Kathman noted that Amazon`s market capitalization of a little less than US$4-billion is higher than Barnes & Noble Inc.`s (BKS/NYSE) US$1.98-billion and Borders Group Inc.`s (BGP/NYSE) US$1.6-billion.

But trailing 12-month revenue of US$4.7-billion for Barnes & Noble and US$3.4-billion for Borders are above Amazon`s US$2.98-billion, Mr. Kathman noted.

"Amazon has more than twice as much market cap, which is not totally in fantasy-land, but I think is aggressive," he said. "And Amazon is still losing money, but these other guys are still making it, at least some of the time."

Mr. Kathman believes Amazon`s shares would be fairly valued at US$7.50, 32% below yesterday`s closing price of US$10.96.

Ms. Levitan, meanwhile, has expressed concern about Amazon`s used and services business lines.

The used business allows Amazon users to post secondhand items on the site. In its services business, Amazon sells products and operates Web sites for partners such as Borders Group and Target Corp. (TGT/NYSE).

In a research note, Ms. Levitan wrote that although she is "impressed" by the higher margins of these businesses, they raise potential conflicts with the company`s brand and business model.

For example, the used business places responsibility for product delivery on other sellers, and that may be at odds with Amazon`s commitment to providing topnotch customer service, she wrote.

As the company enters service partnerships that do not rely on Amazon for product distribution that may have negative implications as well, Ms. Levitan added.

A recent example of such a partnership is the one in which Amazon allows its customers to order electronics products for pickup at Circuit City Stores Inc. (CC/NYSE).

Ms. Levitan noted that Amazon has a high fixed-cost product distribution infrastructure. But if newer service agreements don`t take advantage of that infrastructure, it could act as an "overhang" on the company`s longer-term profitability potential, she wrote.

Mr. Curry said Amazon has said its distribution centres make excellent use of partnerships like the one Amazon has with Toys `R` Us Inc. (TOY/NYSE). Other agreements, like the one with Circuit City, are "good for customers and good for the long-term" business.

Not all analysts believe Amazon`s stock is pricey.

Safa Rashtchy at U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray has an "outperform" rating on the stock and sees fair value at US$15 a share.

He bases his valuation on a discounted multiple of 25 times his $1.21-a-share forecast for Amazon`s 2005 pro forma earnings.

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Online retail spending gained in fourth period



Wall Street Journal (US Edition): Thursday , January 03, 2002



While retail sales were mainly bleak over the holiday period, online merchants say they enjoyed significant growth in the fourth quarter. AOL Time Warner Inc. unit America Online Inc. says that there was a year-on-year increase of 72% in retail spending by its members in the U.S., including travel spending, to $11bn. For the entire year, U.S. members of America Online increased their online spending to $33m - up 67%. While Amazon.com Inc. would not be specific about its figures, it did say that it received 37.9m unit orders in the Nov.9-Dec. 21 period. Bill Curry, a spokesman for Amazon, commented that online shopping has now become "a reliable, mainstream way to shop." Overstock.com Inc. has also announced an increase of over 100% in full-year sales, helped by its focus on discount goods. Even sites specializing in luxury goods, such as RedEnvelope Inc. and Blue Nile Inc., have reported increased business.

Abstracted from: The Wall St Journal

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OUTLOOK Amazon Q1 loss/shr 9 cents vs 21; sales 804.19 mln usd vs 700.36

AFX-Asia: Wednesday, April17, 2002



NEW YORK (AFX) - Amazon.com Inc is expected to report next Tuesday a first-quarter loss per share of 9 cents a share, narrowing from a loss of 21 cents per share a year earlier, according to the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial. Sales are expected to rise to 804.19 mln usd from 700.36 mln in the same quarter last year, according to the consensus estimate. Following a profit of 9 cents a share in the last quarter of 2001, Amazon is expected to fall back into the red, but sales are expected to show solid year-on-year growth, boosted by special promotions and the growth of the international unit, analysts said. Merrill Lynch analysts are expecting Amazon to slightly exceed their forecasts for sales of 783 mln usd and a loss per share of 10 cents. They said the company may possibly exceed the consensus sales estimates. The main drivers for Amazon exceeding estimates are likely to be the international division, which accounts for 25 pct of sales, and the company`s Super Saver Shipping promotion (free shipping on orders over 99 usd), the Merrill Lynch analysts said. But they warned the promotion will weigh on costs and therefore limit EPS growth. Lehman Brothers said the company`s figures will be under close scrutiny, with observers searching for signs that Amazon`s turnaround can be sustained, a fact they say is not as certain as some would believe. "There is little visibility in its services division, and we question its sustainability," they said. Sales growth "is driven by Amazon`s more risky and less valuable businesses (international and services), the marketing strategy is shifting to a price/discount focus and Amazon`s metrics are now less predictive measures of the business," they said. They are also looking for a loss per share of 10 cents in the first quarter. dlh/mtp/gc

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Amazon Q1 results beat expectations; sees FY sales up 15 pct
AFX UK Focus: Tuesday, April23, 2002


SEATTLE (AFX) - Amazon.com Inc posted better-than-expected first-quarter results and said full-year sales will be up 15 pct. "We are ahead of schedule financially. Our continued operational progress and momentum allow us to further lower prices for customers and at the same time increase our 2002 guidance," said Warren Jenson, the internet retailer`s chief financial officer . "It`s the best of all worlds -- lower prices for customers, better customer service and lower costs -- all driving us toward our objective of free cash flow for the year." For the three months to March, the company posted a loss of 23 mln usd, or 6 cents a share, narrower than last year`s loss of 234 mln usd, or 66 cents a share last year, and better than Thomson Financial/First Call consensus forecasts of a 9-cent loss . Sales rose 21 pct to 847.4 mln usd. Looking ahead, the company said net sales in the second quarter would come in at 765-815 mln usd, above analyst forecasts of 750.55 mln usd. Pro forma operating income for the period is forecast to be 5-15 mln usd. For the full year, it sees net sales up over 15 pct on last year`s 3.12 bln usd and projects operating income of over 100 mln usd. The full-year First Call consensus is for sales of 3.509 bln usd. vip/gc

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Amazon Reports $23 Million Loss
AP Online: Wednesday, April24, 2002

SEATTLE, Apr 24, 2002 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- The old-economy standbys of cutting prices and offering freebies have been paying off for Internet retailer Amazon.com.

The online retailer on Tuesday reported a net loss of $23 million or 6 cents a share for the first quarter, beating Wall Street`s expectations. Company executives also forecast sales for the rest of the year to be better than expected.

Amazon Chief Financial Officer Warren Jenson said a combination of price cuts and free shipping attracted more business, while the company was able to fill orders more efficiently.

"One thing we do know, lower prices work," Jenson told reporters in a conference call.

The loss for the quarter that ended March 31 compares with a net loss a year earlier of $234 million or 66 cents a share, which included restructuring-related and other charges of $114 million and goodwill amortization of $49 million.

Net sales were $847 million, up 21 percent from $700 million in first-quarter 2001.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call had expected a loss of 9 cents a share.

Shares in Amazon closed down 25 cents Tuesday at $14.06 a share on the Nasdaq Stock Market. In after-hours trading, shares were up $1.08 or 7.7 percent to $15.40.

"This was fundamentally a great quarter for us where we exceeded expectations across the board," Jenson said.

"I think it was definitely a strong quarter for them," said Dan Geiman, analyst with McAdams Wright Ragen in Seattle.

Geiman said Amazon showed especially strong growth in international business. The company said that more than one-third of its sales were made to international customers during the quarter, and that sales in its international segment grew 71 percent to $226 million.

Amazon said second-quarter net sales should be between $765 million and $815 million, up between 15 percent and 22 percent from last year. The company did not offer guidance on net income.

For the year, Jenson said, net sales are forecast to grow by more than 15 percent from the $3.12 billion of 2001.

On Tuesday, Amazon announced its third price cut on books in a year, giving customers a 30 percent savings on books over $15. Jenson said the price cuts, along with free shipping on orders over $99, helped boost sales.

"They are proving to the Street that this is still a premier growth Internet company," said Jeetil J. Patel, analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.

Amazon, which surprised analysts in fourth-quarter 2001 by earning a $5 million profit, has done a good job of meeting its goals in the past several quarters, Patel said.

"Now they are actually passing some of those savings and advantages back to the consumer market," he said.

Amazon said it was able to cut its operating expenses for order fulfillment, marketing, technology and administrative costs by 14 percent, to $198.5 million in the first quarter from $231.2 million a year earlier.

Also Tuesday, Amazon and Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Borders Group Inc. announced a multiyear agreement to allow Amazon customers the option of picking up book and recording purchases at Borders Books and Music stores nationwide. The companies also announced the creation of a new cobranded Web site with Waldenbooks, which will launch before the holiday season.

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On the Net:


By GEORGE TIBBITS AP Business Writer

Copyright 2002 Associated Press, All rights reserved