Like millions of other Christmas shoppers, I ran-up a big bill on Amazon.com (AMZN). Actually, I do this throughout the year. The fact is that Amazon's selection and pricing are top-notch. Shipping is also quick.

But these things aren't cheap. On the latest quarterly report, Amazon.com showed a big increase in expenses, which put a crimp in margins. Friday morning trading, the stock was off 8% to $170.

U.S. stock futures are slightly lower this morning after weaker quarterly results from Amazon.com (AMZN). Investors are awaiting figures on Q4 economic growth. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 9 points to 11,935 and S&P 500 futures fell 1.70 points to 1,294.10. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 dropped 4 points to 2,319.00.

Most U.S. stocks ended the day higher Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 4.39 points or 0.04%.

Data on U.S. fourth quarter gross domestic product (GDP) will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Amazon's (AMZN) 52-week low is $91.70 and its 52-week high is $166.13. It closed yesterday's regular session at $164.97. It ran into some trouble during the after-hours period that followed, falling 4% at one point to $158.30. Is it time to panic and send in the sell order?

I don't think so. Quite frankly, I've learned that this online retailer has the kind of brand equity that will allow it to generate growth for years to come. Consumers love and trust the experience they get from using the site. Not only is this company useful for the long-term, it's also been a pretty good bet for traders as well.

Every time I see a story about Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) I am infuriated and bewildered. How in the world can a 13 year old company have a P/E ratio of 70 and $32 billion capitalization on 37% year over year growth. The top line growth is great and so is the growth in net earnings but does it justify a P/E of 70?

Yesterday Amazon impressed Wall Street by beating expectations in many areas. However, two areas that disappointed were it's reduced earnings projections for the year and a lack of transparency or specifics in certain segments of its enterprise. Also if earnings were lowered by 4% to 6% then why is the stock only down 3%?

The stock is down about $2 from yesterday's close of $81 fluctuating in the the high 70's. From my perspective the stock is way too high and the limited number of shareholders is still holding up the price. Last year I wrote Who owns Amazon.com - really? and not much has changed in this regard.

In late April, Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) wowed Wall Street with first-quarter earnings that topped expectations. Its first-quarter profit increased 38%, while net income jumped to 115%. The following session, Amazon shares jumped more than 25% higher, and these gains have not been given back. In fact, the stock has continued higher since this bull gap, easily into territory not seen since early 2000.

At that time, the online retailing giant looked ahead to the second quarter, projecting revenue between $2.7 billion and $2.85 billion. Tonight after the close - fresh from a wild weekend of Harry Potter fulfillment - the company will issue its earnings for the second-quarter reporting period. Analysts are expecting per-share results between 16 and 17 cents per share, a notably improvement from year-ago earnings of a nickel per share.

So are expectations inflated ahead of tonight's earnings report? Sentiment indicators don't suggest so. For one thing, short interest is near a historical high. About 23% of the equity's available float for public trading is devoted to the short side.

Analysts are cautious as well; data from Zacks indicates that just five covering brokerage firms have named Amazon a "buy," leaving eight "holds" and four "sells," three of which are of the "strong" variety. From a contrarian perspective, this lack of love from Wall Street could be a good thing, as it suggests muted expectations ahead of Amazon's earnings report this evening. Another positive surprise may elicit an upgrade or two from this skeptical bunch.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

Amazon.com investors are not pleased. Not at all. The internet retailer had major strategy changes this quarter with the embittered breakup with longtime partner Toysrus.com, and that combined with other factors to send net income down 58% from the year-ago quarter. Quarterly net income was $22 million, five cents per diluted share, versus $50 million, or 12 cents per share, in 2005. Sales, however, were good and within Amazon's forecasted range at $2.14 billion, up 22%.

Investors didn't seem to care much that sales showed such a strong growth rate, or that Amazon.com had, indeed, warned of ill effects of the end of the Toysrus.com partnership. After falling 72 cents in intraday trading ahead of the earnings release, shares were down another $3.47, or 12.2% on the day, in after-hours trading a few minutes after the announcement.

Amazon.com's 52-week low is $30, only a few pennies less than where the stock stands in after-hours.