Amazon's 4Q revenue misses forecasts

  

SAN FRANCISCO -- Amazon.com is reporting an 8 percent increase in fourth-quarter net income which surpasses Wall Street expectations, but revenue fell short, sending shares down nearly 10 percent in extended trading.

The results reflect the unevenness in this holiday's shopping season, as people started to pick up their spending again after the official end of the Great Recession but are being picky about what they buy.

Amazon.com shares fell $17.62, or 9.6 percent, to $166.33 in extended trading Thursday, after the results were posted.

The world's biggest online retailer said its net income rose 8 percent to $416 million, or 91 cents per share, topping the estimate of 88 cents per share of analysts polled by FactSet. That compares with $384 million, or 85 cents per share, in the previous year's period.

Revenue jumped 36 percent to $12.95 billion, but fell short of the $13.02 billion analysts expected.

The company's first quarter guidance of $9.1 billion to $9.9 billion in revenue was in line with analyst projections of $9.32 billion.

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