Tom Reese/Paul Rubillo, Dividend.com
Amazon.com (AMZN) shares are up over 15% on the pre-market after the internet retailing giant reported profits in the fourth quarter rose 9% to $225 million, or 52 cents per share, compared with $207 million, or 48 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.
The company said sales rose 18 percent to $6.7 billion, exceeding analyst estimates for $6.4 billion. The company did say its gross profit margin declined to 20.1 percent, from 20.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007.
Looking ahead, management is forecasting revenue in the current quarter should be between $4.53 billion and $4.93 billion, above consensus expectations for $4.57 billion.
The Bottom Line
This is now the fourth stock this quarter where shorts picked a fight where there was no reason to do so. It happened with IBM (IBM), Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG) and now Amazon. If you are an active trader, you have to avoid betting against the stocks that the market desperately needs a good number from. You can see by today's spike that many short traders got their hands burned again. The company does have overhead resistance in the $62-66 area. We do not rate the stock at this time, but this is another name we like to monitor for how the growth side of the markets are trading.
Amazon.com (AMZN) does not currently pay a dividend.
Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks, as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here.
Related Stories
