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Technology Stocks : Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Victor Lazlo who wrote (120516)	3/16/2001 1:55:10 AM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Respond to of 164684

"Business : Thursday, July 22, 1999 Amazon.com posts its largest loss, announces stock split by Helen Jung Seattle Times technology reporter Amazon.com's stock tumbled 15 percent today after the online retailer reported its largest loss to date for the quarter ended June 30. Its shares were down $18.75 to $106.688 in late trading. That didn't surprise analysts, who thought Amazon.com shares likely would fall on disappointment that sales and earnings, which met most analysts' expectations, didn't exceed estimates by a wide margin. Investors want more details about the retailer's current business and specifics on its plans, analysts said. "They have to clearly communicate their strategy and make sure we all understand where this is going and why it's going there," said Bill McVail, analyst at Turner Investment Partners. "At some point, it's no longer good enough to be a broad, thematic story." Amazon.com stock fell even though the company announced a 2-for-1 stock split yesterday. The stock split, which will go into effect Sept. 1, is the third since the high-profile company went public two years ago. Split announcements are often bullish for a company's stock. Excluding acquisition costs and other one-time charges, the Seattle-based Internet retailer reported a loss of $82.8 million, or 51 cents a share for its second quarter. That compares with a loss of $17 million, or 12 cents a share, in the same period in 1998. Including the charges, Amazon.com turned in a loss of $138 million, or 86 cents a diluted share, compared with $22.6 million, or 15 cents a share. During the quarter, the company rang up sales of $314 million, up 171 percent from $116 million in the year-earlier period. That reflects some of the gain made by Amazon.com as it has embarked on new ventures, selling everything from books to Beanie babies. In a conference call with analysts, Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos repeated his stand that it would be a mistake for the company to focus more on turning a profit than on positioning itself to take advantage of the opportunities on the Internet. Amazon.com's massive expansion this year sets the stage for even more growth in 2000, he said. In its second quarter, Amazon.com opened several new distribution centers, from Georgia to Germany, to help prepare for the end-of-year holiday-season rush. It also gained a president and chief operating officer - Joseph Galli - after a corporate tug-of-war with Frito Lay to land the former Black & Decker executive. Amazon.com, which started as a bookseller in 1995, has added music, videos, auctions, free electronic greeting cards and, most recently, toys and consumer electronics to its product mix. Amazon.com announced the company has 10.7 million customers, compared with 3.1 million a year ago. And the company has marked its growth in other less conventional ways as well. Bezos gave a timeline including such highlights as being sued by Wal-Mart, a night when crews relied on flashlights to pack books through the night during a power outage, and being declared "Amazon.toast" by one analyst anticipating competition from book giant Barnes & Noble. For the six months ended June 30, Amazon.com reported sales of $608 million, compared with $203 million for the same six-month period of 1998. Including all one-time charges, the company had a loss of $200 million, or $1.26 a diluted share, compared with $33 million, or 23 cents a share, for the same period in 1998. " archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com