Amazon.com Earnings Up, Stock Slides

Burlingame, Calif. -

Amazon.com's shares slid nearly 13% in after-hours trading Wednesday after the online retailer issued a glum forecast for the holiday season despite posting stronger than expected third-quarter earnings.

Amazon's (nasdaq: AMZN - news - people ) earnings rose 48% over the year-ago period. The Seattle-based company reported net income of $118 million, or 27 cents per share, on sales of $4.3 billion, compared with earnings of $80 million, or 19 cents per share, on sales of $3.3 billion for the same period a year ago.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had expected the online retailer to report net income of $105.6 million, or 25 cents per share, on sales of $4.3 billion.

The real question is how Amazon--and shopping overall--will fare as the downturn deepens in the coming months.

Fears of an economic slowdown have already sent Amazon shares down more than 40% this year to $52.97 from $92.64.

And Amazon's guidance confirmed little to shake investor's gloomy outlook, with the company saying it expected fourth-quarter sales between $6 billion and $7 billion. Analysts were expecting sales of $7.1 billion for the quarter.

The news sent Amazon's shares down $6.32, or 12.64%, to $43.67 in after-hours trading.