Stocks to Watch: Facebook, Amazon, Chevron

NEW YORK -- Facebook (FB), the social networking giant, saw shares dive 10% in after-hours trading Thursday after posting in-line quarterly profit that failed to impress Wall Street.

Facebook reported non-GAAP earnings of $295 million, or 12 cents a share, on revenue of $1.18 billion. Analysts were expecting profit of 12 cents a share in the June-ended period on revenue of $1.15 billion.

On a generally accepted accounting principles basis, Facebook lost $157 million, or 8 cents a share, in the latest quarter. The loss reflects costs related to the company's disastrous mid-May initial public offering.

"Our goal is to help every person stay connected and every product they use be a great social experience," said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO, in a press release Thursday. "That's why we're so focused on investing in our priorities of mobile, platform and social ads to help people have these experiences with their friends."

Facebook Fails to Impress in Earnings Debut

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Amazon.com (AMZN), the online retailer, delivered mixed second-quarter results after the market closed Thursday.

The Seattle-based company reported profit of $7 million, or 1 cent a share, on revenue of $12.83 billion. The latest results included a net loss of $65 million related to the acquisition and integration of Kiva Systems.

Analysts were expecting second-quarter profit of 2 cents a share on revenue of $12.88 billion.

For the third quarter ending in September, Amazon forecast an operating loss of between $50 million and $350 million and revenue ranging from $12.9 billion to $14.3 billion. Wall Street's current consensus estimate is for earnings of 14 cents a share in the current quarter on revenue of $14.09 billion.

Amazon Posts Mixed Quarter

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Starbucks (SBUX), the coffee company, on Thursday missed Wall Street expectations for its fiscal third quarter. The company also issued weak guidance.

The company reported a profit of $333.1 million, or 43 cents a share, in the three months ended in June on revenue of $3.30 billion, falling short of analysts' views of 45 cents a share on revenue of $3.33 billion.

Starbucks also forecast fourth-quarter earnings of 44 cents to 45 cents a share and said it expects earnings of $2.04 to $2.14 a share in fiscal 2013. Both those ranges are below Wall Street estimates.

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Chevron (CVX), the energy giant, is expected by analysts Friday to report second-quarter earnings of $3.24 a share on revenue of $68.56 billion.

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Merck (MRK), the drugmaker, is seen by analysts posting quarterly profit of $1.01 a share on revenue of $12.15 billion.

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Homebuilder D.R. Horton (DHI) is expected by analysts Friday to report fiscal third-quarter earnings of 20 cents a share on revenue of $1.18 billion.

-- Written by Joseph Woelfel



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