Amazon earnings plummet

SEATTLE — Amazon.com Inc. said Thursday that fourth quarter earnings fell 43 percent in the all-important holiday season compared to the same period a year ago, when the company had a big one-time gain.

The results sent shares tumbling in after-hours trading.

For the three months ended Dec. 31, the Internet retailing giant said it earned $199 million, or 47 cents per share, compared with $347 million, or 82 cents per share in the last three months of 2004.

The Seattle company said the most recent results included a one-time tax benefit of $38 million. In the last three months of 2004, Amazon said it recorded a $239 million one-time tax gain from losses incurred in previous years.

Without one-time items, Chief Financial Officer Tom Szkutak said the company would have earned 26 cents per share in the most recent quarter, compared with 24 cents per share in the year-ago period.

Net sales for the three-month period were $2.98 billion, up 17 percent from $2.54 billion in the fourth quarter of 2004. The company said sales would have been up by 22 percent if not for the unfavorable, $121 million impact of changes in foreign exchange rates.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting earnings of 21 cents per share, on revenue of $3.08 billion.

Shares in Amazon.com fell $1.24, or 2.8 percent, to close at $42.74 Thursday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

The results were released after the market closed. In after-hours trading, shares dropped an additional $3.49, or nearly 8.2 percent.

In a conference call with journalists, Szkutak said the company’s various free shipping offers had saved customers more than $475 million during 2005. The offers include a year-old program called Amazon Prime that allows customers to get unlimited two-day shipping for $79 per year.

Comcast Corp., the nation’s largest cable TV operator, reported a 69 percent plunge in fourth-quarter profits Thursday due to costs related to Katrina and other hurricanes, lower investment income and a sharply higher tax rate.

It’s the first time since the third quarter of 2004 that Comcast’s profits have fallen. But the Philadelphia-based company’s cable and high-speed Internet business stayed robust in the quarter while its phone business held its ground.

Cable revenues rose 8 percent and Internet revenues gained 24 percent. Revenue collected per subscriber rose 9 percent to an average $84.12 a month.

Shares of the company fell 97 cents, or 3.5 percent, to close at $27.02 on the Nasdaq.

Comcast reported fourth-quarter earnings of $133 million, or 6 cents a share, compared with $423 million, or 19 cents a share, in the fourth quarter of 2004.

Results include a $495 million decline in investments and other income, relating to litigation and noncash investments. Comcast also said its tax rate rose to 69 percent from 49 percent last year.

Whirlpool Corp., the home appliance maker which is buying smaller rival Maytag Corp., reported a 30 percent jump in fourth-quarter profits Thursday on strong product pricing and lower taxes.

The company posted a profit of $126 million, or $1.83 per share, up from $97 million, or $1.44 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2004. Sales during the quarter rose to $3.95 billion from $3.63 billion in the year-ago period.

Analysts, on average, projected profit of $1.70 per share on sales of $3.83 billion, according to Thomson Financial.

The company’s fourth-quarter performance pushed 2005 net earnings to a record $422 million, or $6.19 per share, compared to $406 million, or $5.90 per share, in 2004.

CVS Corp., one of the nation’s largest drugstore chains, said Thursday its fourth-quarter profit rose nearly 60 percent on strong same-store sales.

Net income for the quarter ended Dec. 31 grew to $402.8 million, or 48 cents per share, from $251.8 million, or 30 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding one-time benefits, the Woonsocket-based company said earnings would have been 41 cents per share.

Revenue rose 9 percent to $9.73 billion from $8.92 billion in 2004, as same-store sales for the quarter rose 6.7 percent. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 40 cents per share on $9.71 billion in sales.

Electronic Arts Inc. offered more insight Thursday into the bruising effects of the current transition to next-generation game consoles, reporting significantly lower profits that missed already downgraded expectations.

Only one day after it laid off several hundred workers, the world’s largest video game publisher said it earned $259 million, or 83 cents per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31. That marked a 31 percent drop from the year-ago period, when the company posted a profit of $375 million, or $1.18 per share.

Revenue fell to $1.27 billion, down 11 percent from $1.43 billion in the prior year.