Amazon Profits Rise in Q1

Web retailer Amazon.com Inc. said Wednesday that its first-quarter profit rose 29 percent, helped by solid sales in the U.S. and abroad.

But a variety of factors, including slower growth in U.S. sales, international margin troubles and lower guidance for the full fiscal year pushed shares down $4.25, or 5.2 percent, to $76.75 in after-hours trading. The stock had closed up $1.40 at $81.
Quarterly earnings climbed to $143 million, or 34 cents per share, from $111 million, or 26 cents per share, in the same period last year.
Those results beat Wall Street's expectations. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had forecast a profit of 32 cents per share.
Revenue increased 37 percent to $4.14 billion from $3.02 billion in the year-ago quarter.