Troy Wolverton
- Article Tools
- Email this Article
- Print this Article
- Rss Feed
- Del.icio.us
- Digg
- StumbleUpon
-
PLAY BEAT THE STREET GAME NOW
Updated from Jan. 23 Amazon.com AMZN shares rose slightly on Friday, following the company's report that it posted its second-ever quarterly profit in the fourth quarter. In recent trading, Amazon shares were up 46 cents, or 2.1%, to $22.25. The company reported its earnings after the market closed on Thursday. The online retailer earned $2.7 million, or less than a penny a share, in the fourth quarter on $1.43 billion in revenue. During the same period last year, Amazon earned $5.1 million, or slightly more than 1 cent a share, on $1.12 billion in revenue. On a pro forma basis, which excludes stock-based compensation and restructuring charges, Amazon earned $75.4 million, or 19 cents a share. Wall Street analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call expected the company to earn 14 cents a share on a pro forma basis, on $1.39 billion in revenue. The fourth quarter wasn't enough to pull up Amazon's annual results. For the year, the company lost $149 million, or 39 cents a share, on $3.9 billion in revenue. Despite the large annual loss, the company's sixth straight as a public company, Amazon generated $135 million in free cash flow, which includes interest and capital expenses, but excludes the exercise of stock-based compensation. Last year, the company's free cash flow was a negative $170 million. But not everything was positive for the company in the quarter. As expected, the company's free shipping promotion proved costly. Amazon offers free shipping on most orders that exceed $25. During the fourth quarter, shipping cost the company $30 million more than the $121 million in charges it assessed customers. During the same period in 2001, shipping cost Amazon just $11 million more than the $125 million in shipping revenue it earned from customers. Analysts have predicted that Amazon would staunch its losses by raising the minimum purchase price for free shipping. But instead Amazon announced on Thursday that it would make the $25 threshold for free shipping permanent, year-round.
Apple and AT&T were among the most searched stocks on TheStreet.com Friday. Here's what Cramer had to say about them recently.
Catch up on his thinking on the hottest topics of the past week.
Investors will have to deal with a Fed meeting and another flood of earnings and economic data.
Looking for deep value with Defiance Asset Management, polling big investors about where the market's headed, plus much more.
See who made what calls.
3 Stocks I Saw On TVDan Fitzpatrick examines three stocks viewed on Fast Money and Mad Money Today's stocks include Deere & Co., Petrobras and MBIA
TheStreet.com Ratings checks in on First Community Bancorp and First Niagara Financial Group two months after recommending the stock.
Take-Two's latest hit receives a perfect score from industry reviewers.
- Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Mad Money's Rally Playbook
- The Polycarbonate Price Cut
- CalPERS Pushes for Clean House at Standard Pacific
- Investing in China: What You Need to Know
- Coming Week: 'Glimmer of Hope'
- Top Stocks With Insider Buying, Buybacks
- New Solar ETF Helps Spread Sector's Risk
- Feuerstein's Biotech-Stock Mailbag
- Need to Own Energy? Here's How to Do It
- My Company Doesn't Provide Health Insurance (Gulp!)
Sponsored by:
RSS
