Amazon reported that net sales had increased 35 percent to $17.43 billion in the fourth quarter. However, net income decreased 58 percent compared to the same period last year as the company spent on introducing the Kindle Fire.
According to Forbes, Amazon still managed to beat Wall Street’s expectations for the quarter. They wrote earlier today: “Wall Street is currently expecting a fourth-quarter profit of 19 cents per share from Amazon, a figure that is down sharply from earnings of 91 cents per share in the same quarter last year.”
Here’s more from the earnings release: “Net income decreased 58% to $177 million in the fourth quarter, or $0.38 per diluted share, compared with net income of $416 million, or $0.91 per diluted share, in fourth quarter 2010.”
UPDATE: The Wall Street Journal monitored the company’s stock price after the news: “Amazon’s stock dropped nearly $16.71, or 8.6 percent, to $177.73 in after-hours trading following the earnings announcement.”
