Disproving reports that its growth days are behind it, Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) today reported quarterly results that far exceeded Wall Street estimates.

Net income at the No.1 e-tailer more than doubled to $158 million, or 37 cents a share, up from $78 million or 19 cents per share. Revenue jumped 41% to $4.06 billion. The New York Times noted that analysts had expected a 26 cent profit on sales of $3.96 billion. The results, though, were not good enough for Wall Street, and investors sent Amazon's shares tumbling in after-hours trading.

One reason for the thumbs down may be that the company's gross margins -- always a concern with investors -- contracted slightly. The company also maintained its revenue forecast for the current period. Maybe investors were expecting the company to boost earnings guidance as it benefits from shoppers bypassing malls and spending on gasoline in favor of shopping at home.

Skeptics, including me, have underestimated the company. Soleil Securities analyst Scott Tilghman told Bloomberg News that "There's a misperception out there that e-commerce is much more mature than it actually is. They (Amazon) offer one-stop shopping and often better prices than bricks-and-mortar stores, which should offset any slowdown in consumer spending."

Looks like he may have a point.

[July 24 UPDATE: Amazon shares soar after Chief Executive Jeff Bezos' bullish comments. The shares were little changed at first until Bezos said on the earnings conference call that the company was benefiting from consumers avoiding driving to brick-and-mortar stores because of concerns about high gas prices. Shares are up over 15% by early afternoon Thursday.]

Amazon.com blows away expecations originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Internet-only Nine Inch Nails album pulls in $1.6 million in first week originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This Forbes article speaks of a rather interesting proposition for local businesses that may have seen their customers shift ever-so-slightly into shopping over the web. How can they compete like it's 1999? First of all, don't buy the Prince song on iTunes. Second, follow Google Local to your heart's content.

Instead of trying to replace local merchants with Google Base, Google has been trying to create partnerships with merchants anywhere and everywhere. Reason: the lucrative advertising revenue that comes from matching buyer and seller. It's eBay for the advertising age, to coin a phrase.

I've said it once too often, but it appears from this angle that Google's intention is to become the biggest source of advertising on the planet. Its move beyond the traditional Internet into broadcast radio with the DMarc acquisition and municipal WiFi service with the Earthlink partnership, will allow its incredibly ad-targeting platform to shine.

After all, the more Google helps global and local merchants match what they offer insofar as products and services, the more lucrative ad revenue it gleans from each looked-at item and each completed transaction. By siphoning a little bit off each transaction -- and by helping business partners to convert shoppers into buyers -- all the worlds' billion-dollar economies stand to pound hard cash straight into Google's coffers, and perhaps into your portfolio if you hold GOOG.

Maybe the Google folks are having a precognition of future strategy by already having a product called Google Earth.

Can local merchants compete with Internet merchants? Think - and thank - Google originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 May 2006 13:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.