Amazon shares dip on weak net profit, outlook

Amazon shares plunged in after-hours trading on Tuesday as the online retail giant said net profit fell sharply in the third quarter and provided a weak outlook for the holiday period. Amazon shares shed 14.25 percent to $194.77 after the Seattle, Washington-based company released its earnings for the quarter which ended on September 30. Amazon said net profit declined 73 percent to $63 million in the quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. Earnings per share of 14 cents were well below the 24 cents per share expected by Wall Street analysts. Revenue was up 44 percent to $10.88 billion, slightly below the $10.93 billion forecast by analysts. Amazon said it expected revenue of between $16.45 billion and $18.65 billion in the current quarter, less than the midpoint of $18.10 billion expected by analysts for the period which includes the Christmas holiday. In a statement, Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos emphasized sales of the Kindle electronic book reader and the Kindle Fire tablet computer introduced last month. "September 28 was the biggest order day ever for Kindle, even bigger than previous holiday peak days," Bezos said. "In the three weeks since launch, orders for electronic ink Kindles are double the previous launch," he said. "And based on what we're seeing with Kindle Fire pre-orders, we're increasing capacity and building millions more than we'd already planned." Amazon does not release actual sales figures for the Kindle.