Everett, Wash.
Published: Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Amazon profits rocket upward

Associated Press

 SEATTLE - Amazon.com Inc.'s second-quarter profit more than tripled, boosted by strong sales of books, music and electronics worldwide. The Web retailer's stock soared 12.5 percent in after-hours trading.

Earnings for the three months ended June 30 climbed to $78 million, or 19 cents per share, from $22 million, or 5 cents per share during the same period last year, the company said Tuesday.

Results topped Wall Street's expectations. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast a profit of 16 cents per share.

Revenue rose 35 percent to $2.88 billion from $2.14 billion in the year-ago quarter, beating expectations for $2.81 billion in sales.

Prior to the announcement, shares of Amazon sank $2.49, or 3.5 percent, to close at $69.25. They gained $8.65, to $77.90, in after-hours trading.

Amazon said a weaker dollar helped improve sales slightly. The company said media and electronics sales rose across all regions, and subscribers to the $79-per-year shipping membership program, Amazon Prime, increased.

For the current third quarter, Amazon said it expects revenue of $3 billion to $3.175 billion. For the full fiscal year, Amazon raised its forecast to $13.8 billion to $14.3 billion, up from its earlier outlook for $13.4 billion to $14 billion.
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