Amazon.com's Expensive Christmas

Like millions of other Christmas shoppers, I ran-up a big bill on Amazon.com AMZN. Actually, I do this throughout the year. The fact is that Amazon's selection and pricing are top-notch. Shipping is also quick. But these things aren't cheap. On the latest quarterly report, Amazon.com showed a big increase in expenses, which put a crimp in margins. Friday morning trading, the stock was off 8% to $170. Earnings came to $416 million or $0.91 per share, which compares to $384 million, or $0.85 per share, in the same period a year ago. Over the year, operating expenses were up 38%. As for revenues, these soared 38% to $12.95 billion. Continue reading the article.