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Pastimes : Clown-Free Zone... sorry, no clowns allowed -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TheStockFairy who wrote (126938)	10/2/2001 6:33:37 PM
From: NOW	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 436258

dont post that stuff: gives me flashbacks....

To: TheStockFairy who wrote (126938)	10/2/2001 6:45:15 PM
From: Dr. Jeff	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 436258

<<<Was demand for Amazon's services supposed to remain strong? >>> The clowns at AMZN say they are "well positioned" dailynews.yahoo.com Tuesday October 2 5:40 PM ET Amazon 'Well Positioned' but Economy Unpredictable By Siobhan Kennedy NEW YORK (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq:AMZN - news) Chief Financial Officer Warren Jenson said on Tuesday the online retailer was well positioned to meet its goal for profits, excluding certain items, in the fourth quarter -- but he cautioned that the economy was unpredictable. All eyes are on Amazon as it enters the crucial fourth- quarter holiday season. The retail giant, long criticized for not ever managing to post positive earnings, has promised Wall Street it will record a profit, excluding a string of items, in the fourth quarter. ``We are well positioned, but there's a big part of the equation I can't describe to you and that's what the top line is going to look like, what consumer demand is going to be into the fourth quarter,'' he told Reuters in an interview following a presentation at the Robertson Stephens consumer conference here. With consumer confidence hit by the Sept.11 air attacks and no signs of a pickup in the U.S economy, analysts fear Amazon may not attain its goal. ``Amazon is heavily dependent on a good Christmas season at this point,'' said Michael Legg, an analyst with Jeffries & Co. ''If they get that, they should do fine. However, what we're seeing now with the economy, and with consumer confidence ... has put some doubt as to how strong that holiday selling season will be.'' Jenson said it was too early for Amazon to make any definitive statements on its profitability target. ``I'm not either confirming or backing off,'' he said. ''Everybody's been dealt a big wild card. We're going to have to watch the economy very, very carefully.'' ``What I can tell you is this,'' he added. ``Our cost position's in great shape, our inventories are well controlled, we're serving customers better than we ever had, our fulfillment centers are more efficient than they've ever been.'' Jenson admitted that the company's sales were hurt initially after the Sept. 11 attacks. ``We started the quarter kind of like what we expected to do, then the week of September 10, the orders fell off,'' he said. ``But they've rebounded at or above, near where we were trending before. But from here forward, it is impossible for us to be able to gauge anything.'' For the second quarter ended June 30, the Seattle-based company recorded a pro forma operating loss -- which includes $30 million in expenses like net interest payments -- of $58 million, or 16 cents a share, compared with $116 million, or 33 cents a share a year earlier. Revenues rose 16 percent to $668 million, up from $578 million a year ago, but below the low end of analysts' estimates and down from the previous quarter's $700 million. At the time, Amazon, which sells everything from books to kitchenware in its online store, said it expected third-quarter sales growth to slow further to $625 million to $675 million. Amazon is due to report third-quarter earnings on Oct.23. Shares of Amazon closed up 1.16 percent, or 7 cents, to $6.08 on Nasdaq. The shares have traded as high as $40.875 and as low as $5.51 in the last 52 weeks.