Amazon Loss Narrows Amid Strong Sales; Stock Up

(RTTNews) - Online retailer Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), said Thursday its loss for the third quarter narrowed from a year ago, helped mainly by strong sales ahead of the holiday season. The loss for the quarter was in line with Wall Street estimates, while revenue surpassed expectations.

Amazon.com expects to post a loss for the fourth quarter even as it provided a broad sales-guidance range. Overall, investors were impressed with the third-quarter performance of Amazon.com, sending its shares soaring to a new high for the year -- up 8 percent in after-hours trade on the Nasdaq.

Amazon.com has been posting losses in the recent past due mainly to spending on warehouses and technologies. This is against the backdrop of a long streak of quarterly profit.

Sales for the third quarter were strong as usual. North America segment sales rose 31 percent to $10.3 billion year-over-year, while International segment sales climbed 15 percent to $6.8 billion.

Amazon.com offer merchandise such as books, movies, electronics, toys, grocery, apparel and tools. The company also makes devices such e-readers and tablets, which compete with giants such as Apple Inc. (AAPL).

For the quarter, Amazon.com's worldwide media sales grew 9 percent from last year and worldwide electronics/general merchandise sales jumped 29 percent.

Amazon.com posted third-quarter sales of $17.09 billion, up 24 percent from $13.81 billion last year. On average, 41 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated sales of $16.76 billion for the quarter.

The Seattle, Washington-based company reported a third-quarter net loss of $41 million or $0.09 per share, compared with a net loss of $274 million or $0.60 per share last year. On average, 39 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected Amazon.com to report a loss of $0.09 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Results for the prior-year quarter included a loss of $169 million related to its equity-method share of the losses reported by daily deals company LivingSocial.

Operating expenses for the quarter climbed 24 percent to $17.12 billion. Income tax benefit for the quarter was $12 million, compared with a provision of $83 million last year.

For the fourth quarter, Amazon.com estimates net sales of $23.5 billion to $26.5 billion and operating results to range between a loss of $500 million and a profit of $500 million. Analysts currently expect sales of $25.89 billion for the fourth quarter.

Amazon.com stock closed Thursday at $332.21, up $5.45 or 1.67%, on a volume of 4 million shares. In after hours, the stock gained $26.26 or 7.90%, trading at $358.47. In the past year, the stock traded in the range of $218.18 - $337.11.