Seattle – Explosive demand for its Kindle e-book reader and an 80
percent spike in North American CE segment sales led to double-digit sales and earnings
growth during Amazon.com’s third quarter.
Net
sales increased 39 percent to $7.6 billion, and profits rose 16 percent
to $231 million
for the three months, ended Sept. 30. Excluding the unfavorable impact of foreign
currency fluctuations, sales would have grown 40 percent, the company said.
Nevertheless,
Amazon shares traded lower this morning on a weaker-than-expected forecast for
operating income in the fourth quarter, which will be impacted by capital
investment in new warehouses and higher marketing expenses, include TV
commercials for Kindle.
The
company said its latest-generation Kindles remain the bestselling products on
Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, with customers ordering more of the new devices on
Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk than any other product in the 12 weeks following
the introduction of the updated models.
Within
its North American segment, which includes the company’s U.S. and Canadian
sites, revenue rose 45 percent to $4.1 billion, led by an 80 percent increase
in sales of CE and other general merchandise to $2.3 billion. Sales of media
rose 13 percent to $1.6 billion, and operating income increased 19 percent to
$186 million.
In a statement, founder/CEO Jeff Bezos promised continued
operational improvements this holiday season that will result in “the best
prices, the biggest selection, the highest in-stock, and the fastest delivery
in our history.”
