Amazon Stock Flat After Strong Earnings Report

Lauren Indvik2013-04-25 20:42:28 UTC

After missing analysts' expectations for three consecutive quarters, Amazon beat the Street's forecast, reporting earnings of $0.18 per share compared to earnings of $0.28 per share last year. Wall Street analysts were expecting earnings of $0.10 per share.

Despite the good news, Amazon's stock was up only 1% to approximately $277 per share in after-hours trading.

The report shows that sales continued to grow at a slightly slower clip in Q1, up 22% year-over-year to $16.07 billion. Growth for the last four quarters has averaged 28%. Operating cash flow increased 39% to $4.25 billion. Free cash flow declined 85% to $177 million, which Amazon attributes to its $1.4 billion investment in property and corporate office space at its headquarters in Seattle.

Amazon said its net sales and operating income were negatively impacted by changes in foreign exchange rates, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.

The company expects to have a slower second quarter, with net sales in the range of $15.35 billion, up 17.5% from Q2 2012, and a total operating income loss of about $165 million.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, PinkTag

Topics: amazon, Business, Marketing, Startups if(window.pageChanged) window.omni({"channel":"business","content_type":"article","top_channel":"business","content_source_type":"Internal","content_source_name":"Internal","author_name":"Lauren Indvik","age":"0","pub_day":25,"pub_month":4,"pub_year":2013,"pub_date":"04/25/2013","isPostView":true,"post_lead_type":"Default"}); metaData = {"link":[["canonical","http://mashable.com/2013/04/25/amazon-q1-2013-earnings/"],["image_src","http://rack.1.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA0LzI1LzQyL2lTdG9ja18wMDAwLjYyMGU3LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTcyMHg3MjAjCmUJanBn/0118c3b5/219/iStock_000021743070Large1.jpg"]],"meta_property":[["og:url","http://mashable.com/2013/04/25/amazon-q1-2013-earnings/"],["og:title","Amazon Stock Flat After Strong Earnings Report"],["og:type","article"],["og:site_name","Mashable"],["og:image","http://rack.1.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA0LzI1LzQyL2lTdG9ja18wMDAwLjYyMGU3LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTcyMHg3MjAjCmUJanBn/0118c3b5/219/iStock_000021743070Large1.jpg"],["og:article:published_time","2013-04-25T20:42:28Z"],["og:article:modified_time","2013-04-25T20:46:23Z"]],"meta_name":[["description","Amazon beat analysts' forecasts in the first quarter, but that had little impact on the company's stock price."],["keywords",["amazon","uncategorized","business","marketing","startups"]],["twitter:title","Amazon Stock Flat After Strong Earnings Report"],["twitter:description","After missing analysts' expectations for three consecutive quarters, Amazon beat the Street's forecast, reporting earnings of $0.18 per share compared to earnings of $0.28 per share last year. Wall St..."],["twitter:image","http://rack.3.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA0LzI1LzQyL2lTdG9ja18wMDAwLjYyMGU3LmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTU2MHg3NTAKZQlqcGc/4abc5727/219/iStock_000021743070Large1.jpg"],["twitter:site","@mashable"],["twitter:url","http://mashable.com/2013/04/25/amazon-q1-2013-earnings/"],["twitter:creator","@mashable"],["twitter:card","photo"],["twitter:image:width","560"],["twitter:image:height","750"]],"short_url":[["short_url","http://on.mash.to/15S4Q6T"]]};

View the original article here

Apple Earnings Preview: What to Expect

Seth Fiegerman2013-04-23 14:03:00 UTC

Every earnings report from Apple is viewed as a market moving event, but even by that standard, today's report is huge.

For months, Apple's perception on Wall Street and Main Street has been tarnished by software blunders, supply constraint rumors, executive shakeups, increasing competition from Samsung and Google, and a growing concern that it might not have another breakthrough product in the pipeline.

It has now been more than half a year since Apple held a major launch event for a new product — the iPad Mini in October. Speculation about the company's decline has come to fill that void.

It has now been more than half a year since Apple held a major launch event for a new product — the iPad Mini in October. Speculation about the company's decline has come to fill that void.

It may not be a product launch, but the earnings report offers Apple a chance to pour cold water on some of these concerns, or at least provide some context. The consensus estimate among analysts is that Apple will report sales of just more than 35 million iPhones and about 18 million iPads for the March quarter, with some preparing for disappointing numbers based on recent earnings releases from Apple's supply and manufacturing partners.

Even with all the doomsday talk about the company, analysts are still expecting Apple to report revenue of $42.6 billion for the quarter, which would be a new record for sales in the second quarter. The bigger question, at least for investors, is what happens to Apple's profits for the quarter. Analysts expect that Apple will reporter earnings per share of $10.07, compared to earnings per share of $12.30 in the same quarter a year ago. If that happens, this would represent the first time Apple's profits per share have declined year-over-year in a decade.

AAPL data by YCharts

Apple's stock hit an intraday trading high of $705 a share in late September on the day that the iPhone 5 was released and has since plummeted below $400, effectively erasing all of the gains that it made in 2012. As a result, Apple is no longer the most valuable company in the world, having lost that title to ExxonMobil.

In early trading Tuesday, the stock was hovering right around the $400 line. This report and call will likely determine whether Apple finally starts climbing back up towards $500, or continues to collapse further into the $300-range.

The report will come out shortly after the market closes at 4pm ET and the earnings call will take place at 5pm.

Image via Getty, Kevork Djansezian

Topics: apple, Business, stocks if(window.pageChanged) window.omni({"channel":"business","content_type":"article","top_channel":"business","content_source_type":"Internal","content_source_name":"Internal","author_name":"Seth Fiegerman","age":"0","pub_day":23,"pub_month":4,"pub_year":2013,"pub_date":"04/23/2013","isPostView":true,"post_lead_type":"Default"}); metaData = {"link":[["canonical","http://mashable.com/2013/04/23/apple-q2-earnings-preview/"],["image_src","http://rack.1.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA0LzIzLzFiL0Nvb2suNWMxNjQuanBnCnAJdGh1bWIJNzIweDcyMCMKZQlqcGc/3f47bc3e/df3/Cook.jpg"]],"meta_property":[["og:url","http://mashable.com/2013/04/23/apple-q2-earnings-preview/"],["og:title","Apple Earnings Preview: What to Expect"],["og:type","article"],["og:site_name","Mashable"],["og:image","http://rack.1.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA0LzIzLzFiL0Nvb2suNWMxNjQuanBnCnAJdGh1bWIJNzIweDcyMCMKZQlqcGc/3f47bc3e/df3/Cook.jpg"],["og:article:published_time","2013-04-23T14:03:00Z"],["og:article:modified_time","2013-04-23T14:03:30Z"]],"meta_name":[["description","Every earnings report from Apple is viewed as a market moving event, but even by that standard, today's report is huge."],["keywords",["apple","stocks","uncategorized","business"]],["twitter:title","Apple Earnings Preview: What to Expect"],["twitter:description","Every earnings report from Apple is viewed as a market moving event, but even by that standard, today's report is huge. For months, Apple's perception on Wall Street and Main Street has been tarnished..."],["twitter:image","http://rack.1.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA0LzIzLzFiL0Nvb2suNWMxNjQuanBnCnAJdGh1bWIJNTYweDc1MAplCWpwZw/a3e916bc/df3/Cook.jpg"],["twitter:site","@mashable"],["twitter:url","http://mashable.com/2013/04/23/apple-q2-earnings-preview/"],["twitter:creator","@mashable"],["twitter:card","photo"],["twitter:image:width","560"],["twitter:image:height","750"]],"short_url":[["short_url","http://on.mash.to/12alCdq"]]};

View the original article here

Yahoo Earnings Beat Estimates, But Core Problems Remain

Seth Fiegerman2013-04-16 20:49:16 UTC

Yahoo's profits in the first quarter beat Wall Street estimates, but the company's core advertising business still appears to be heading in the wrong direction.

Yahoo reported earnings-per-share of $0.38 on revenue of $1.07 billion for the March quarter, beating the consensus estimate for earnings of $0.24 per share, but coming in below the $1.1 billion in revenue that analysts had expected. The stock declined by as much as 4% in after hours trading following the earnings release.

Search revenue increased by 6% from the same quarter a year ago to $384 million, but that wasn't enough to offset falling advertising revenues. Display revenues were particularly disappointing, declining by 11% year-over-year to $402 million, and price-per-click decreased 7%. Yahoo's $1.1 billion in revenue was down from $1.22 billion in the March quarter of 2012.

The earnings report confirms that Yahoo and its new CEO Marissa Mayer are making headway on search, but have yet to figure out how to staunch the bleeding from display revenue, which is a key part of the business.

In a statement, Mayer emphasized that Yahoo's business is stabilizing and her team is taking steps for long-term growth. "We saw continued stability in our business, strengthened our team, and started the year with fast execution against our products and partnerships," Mayer said. "We are moving quickly to roll out beautifully designed, more intuitive experiences for our users. I’m confident that the improvements we’re making to our products will set up the Company for long-term growth."

YHOO data by YCharts

Mayer, who joined Yahoo from Google in July, has attempted to change the company's culture by initiating regular town hall meetings and free food — common at other Silicon Valley companies — and by forcing all employees to report in to the office rather than working from home. Mayer has also acquired six startups including Stamped, Jybe and OnTheAir to bring engineering talent to Yahoo and build up its mobile team.

Some of these moves have generated a fair amount of criticism, including the work-from-home decision, Mayer's determination to personally approve every new hire and Yahoo's recent $30 million acquisition of Summly, a mobile news startup run by a 17-year old. Even so, investors have remained confident in Mayer and the stock has generally continued on an upward trajectory.

Yahoo's stock has been hovering just below $25 in recent days, its highest level in nearly five years and an increase of about 50% from where it was six months ago, as investors have shown renewed optimism in the company and Mayer's leadership.

Image via Getty, Justin Sullivan

Topics: Business, marissa mayer, Media, stocks, Yahoo if(window.pageChanged) window.omni({"channel":"business","content_type":"article","top_channel":"business","content_source_type":"Internal","content_source_name":"Internal","author_name":"Seth Fiegerman","age":"0","pub_day":16,"pub_month":4,"pub_year":2013,"pub_date":"04/16/2013","isPostView":true,"post_lead_type":"Default"}); metaData = {"link":[["canonical","http://mashable.com/2013/04/16/yahoo-q1-earnings/"],["image_src","http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA0LzE2LzAzL01hcmlzc2FNYXllLmUwYTYyLmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTcyMHg3MjAjCmUJanBn/d379856f/cb4/Marissa-Mayer.jpg"]],"meta_property":[["og:url","http://mashable.com/2013/04/16/yahoo-q1-earnings/"],["og:title","Yahoo Earnings Beat Estimates, But Core Problems Remain"],["og:type","article"],["og:site_name","Mashable"],["og:image","http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA0LzE2LzAzL01hcmlzc2FNYXllLmUwYTYyLmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTcyMHg3MjAjCmUJanBn/d379856f/cb4/Marissa-Mayer.jpg"],["og:article:published_time","2013-04-16T20:49:16Z"],["og:article:modified_time","2013-04-16T20:49:28Z"]],"meta_name":[["description","Yahoo's profits in the first quarter beat Wall Street estimates, but the company's core advertising business still appears to be heading in the wrong direction."],["keywords",["yahoo","stocks","marissa-mayer","uncategorized","business","media"]],["twitter:title","Yahoo Earnings Beat Estimates, But Core Problems Remain"],["twitter:description","Yahoo's profits in the first quarter beat Wall Street estimates, but the company's core advertising business still appears to be heading in the wrong direction. Yahoo reported earnings-per-share of $0..."],["twitter:image","http://rack.0.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA0LzE2LzAzL01hcmlzc2FNYXllLmUwYTYyLmpwZwpwCXRodW1iCTU2MHg3NTAKZQlqcGc/5dc0a9f1/cb4/Marissa-Mayer.jpg"],["twitter:site","@mashable"],["twitter:url","http://mashable.com/2013/04/16/yahoo-q1-earnings/"],["twitter:creator","@mashable"],["twitter:card","photo"],["twitter:image:width","560"],["twitter:image:height","750"]],"short_url":[["short_url","http://on.mash.to/10bOp4t"]]};

View the original article here