Amazon profits plunge
Net income fell to $63 million, or 14 cents a share, from $231m, or 51c, a year earlier, the Seattle-based company said today in a statement. That compared with 24c predicted by analysts on average, according to Bloomberg data. Net sales climbed to $10.9 billion, in line with estimates.
Amazon is sacrificing profit margins in search of sales volume and market-share gains against companies such as Apple Inc. The company is selling its Kindle Fire tablet for as low as $199, less than half the price of Apple’s cheapest iPad. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos is counting on sales of music, books, movies and merchandise on the tablet to make up for selling the product at a loss — estimated by IHS Inc to be about $10 per device.
