Amazon.com Beats Expectations, Plans Further Expansion

SAN FRANCISCO -- Amazon.com (AMZN Quote) reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter results, vowed that more aggressive spending is on the way and said it's searching for a chief operating officer and a new chief financial officer.

Excluding M&A-related charges, the leading Internet retailer reported a pro-forma loss of $36.4 million, or 23 cents a share, smaller than the 29 cents-a-share loss that analysts had expected, according to First Call. Including charges, the first-quarter net loss was $61.7 million, or 39 cents a share. Revenue was $293.6 for the first quarter, up from $252.9 million in the fourth quarter. In the same quarter a year ago, Amazon.com reported revenue of $87.4 million and a loss of 7 cents per share.

The new COO position, once filled, will free up CEO Jeff Bezos from some daily operations, Bezos said during a conference call. The current CFO is Joy Covey, who will become chief strategist, where she will work on expanding the company's services and operations.

"We've been constrained most by people bandwidth," said Bezos, who gave out contact information for any prospective candidates. During the Q&A, Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette analyst Jamie Kiggen joked that Amazon should have placed help-wanted ads its new auction site. ...