Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) said first quarter profit rose 30% driven by strong sales across the board. .

Amazon shares slumped in after-hours trading after the company lowered its operating income forecast for the year.

Net income at Amazon rose to $143 million in the first quarter, or 34 cents per share, from $111 million, 26 cents, a year earlier. Sales increased 37% to $4.13 billion. The results beat the views of Wall Street analysts who had expected a profit of 32 cents on revenue of $4.08 billion.

Amazon expects second quarter sales to be between $3.875 billion and $4.075 billion on operating income of $120 million and $160 million. For the year, the Seattle-based e-tailer is forecasting net sales of $19.1 billion to $20 billion on operating income of between $740 million and $940 million. Earlier this year, the company had forecasted operating income of $985 million, according to Bloomberg News. The operating income guidance was wide enough to drive an 18-wheeler through.

Once again, Amazon has left investors up the creek -- or river -- without a paddle.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) today posted a stronger-than-expected fourth quarter and gave bullish guidance for sales. However, the company's forecast for full-year operating income of $785 million and $985 million, below the Bloomberg forecast of $1.18 billion. Shares of the largest Internet retailer, which doubled last year, soared fell in after-hours trading.

Net income increased 112% to $207 million, or 48 cents per share, compared with $98 million, or 23 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 42% to $5.67 billion in the fourth quarter, helped by strong growth outside the U.S. Analysts had expected profit of 48 cents on revenue of $5.37 billion.

"In our view, these unusual financial results are driven by one thing: continuously improving the customer experience," said Chief Executive Jeff Bezos in the earnings release.

The Seattle-based company issued guidance for revenue in the first quarter of between $3.95 billion and $4.15 billion with operating income of between $155 million to $200 million. For the year, Amazon expects sales of $18.75 billion to $19.75 billion with operating income of $785 million to $985 million. Analysts are expecting quarterly sales of $3.92 billion and $14.52 billion for the year.

You probably wouldn't believe just how much I think about eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY). You could say I'm obsessed with the company and you'd be right but it's more than just a fixation for me. It's as if eBay has taken up a part of my very being. I spend several hours a day thinking about ways to improve that company. People think I hate eBay because I express disdain for the current management profile over there. I don't hate eBay. I dislike the way it's being run, all the while maintaining that eBay is my baby.

There are some wild and outlandish things that I think eBay could do in pursuit of reestablishing its growth cycle. You see, like it or not, eBay is slowing down. Personally I'm not surprised by that but I think this stalling phase has come upon eBay much too early. Yes, eBay is stalling way too early ... early by a decade.

Gone are the days of holiday shopping in crowded malls and retail stores, it's all about point-n-click these days. Well, at least somewhat. With there still only being 24 hours in a single day and more stuff than ever to keep us all busy, online shopping is turning into a mainstream mode of buying products and services for people globally. Online shopping has been around for a while, you might say. You're right but in Britain, online shopping is expected to explode even further, tripling by 2011 according to a new survey.

Will that prediction come true in the U.S.?

Hard to tell, but online spending is speeding up by all measurements. Although the social aspect of shopping in person has quite a bit of weight behind it, online shopping is more conducive to the "time" variable these days since we have less of it than ever before. There are some retail purchases that will always require a personal visit -- but for quite a bit of shopping, nothing beats the convenience (and sales tax avoidance, if that's your thing) of online shopping.

One area that still has not taken off in the U.S. is food retailing over the web. Sure, you can buy quite a few items from Amazon's grocery section, but the experience is nothing like grocery shopping in person and fresh items like produce and meat aren't offered. Once that can be duplicated and the logistics can work -- which is a COO's nightmare -- nationwide online grocery shopping may become a reality. In my world, that's one of the last bastions left standing right now that still has not been fully attacked.