Amazon shares plummet after weak holiday sales forecast

Amazon warned consumer spending was in “uncharted waters” as it issued revenue forecasts well below Wall Street expectations, sending its shares down nearly 13 per cent after-hours and deepening the sense of gloom hanging over the tech sector. The ecommerce and cloud computing group, which has become a modern day bellwether for the US economy, said it expected revenues to be between $140bn and $148bn in the fourth quarter, which includes the critical holiday selling season. That was as much as $15bn less than the $155bn analysts were expecting, according to S&P Capital IQ.

Amazon reported third-quarter revenues of $127.1bn, up 15 per cent versus last year but slightly worse than analysts’ expectations. Net income fell to $2.9bn from $3.2bn a year ago and included a $1.1bn boost in non-operating income from its stake in electric vehicle maker Rivian. Chief executive Andy Jassy said the company was making progress on lowering its warehouse and logistics costs but warned “there is obviously a lot happening in the macroeconomic environment”.

(US.AMZN)