Amazon Shares Dive on Revenue Outlook

[DR BLU NEO]

Quarterly revenue jumps 48%, but investors react to the downwardly revised full-year sales forecast.

CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close) Last Updated: October 22, 2008: 5:39 PM ET

SEATTLE (AP) -- Amazon.com Inc. said Wednesday that its profit climbed 48% in the third quarter, but the company reduced its full-year sales outlook, showing that the online retailer cannot escape the weak economy. Its shares dived.

The company now anticipates 2008 revenue of $18.46 billion to $19.46 billion. That means the high end of its forecast is below the $19.52 billion that analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting.

In July, Amazon had predicted sales of $19.35 billion to $20.10 billion.

Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500) shares fell $5.89, or 12%, in extended trading, after finishing regular trading down 24 cents at $49.99.

In the third quarter, Amazon earned $118 million, or 27 cents per share, compared with $80 million, or 19 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

The company said its profit included a $15 million foreign-currency benefit.

Revenue rose almost 31% to $4.26 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 25 cents per share on $4.27 billion in revenue.

Sales of items like books, CDs and DVDs rose 19% to $2.49 billion, and sales of electronics and other merchandise jumped 52% to $1.64 billion.

Revenue from shipping - which includes earnings from Amazon's membership-based two-day shipping program, Amazon Prime, and its third-party shipping program, Fulfillment by Amazon - climbed 12% to $191 million.

The company's net shipping cost also rose, however, to $132 million from $89 million in the year-ago quarter.

First Published: October 22, 2008: 4:57 PM ET