Goldman Sachs Maintains Neutral on Amazon.com Ahead of Earnings

Goldman Sachs has published a research report on Amazon.com AMZN ahead of the company's earnings report, expected next Tuesday, January 31. In the report, Goldman Sachs writes, "Overall, given currency and the potential for greater deceleration in International sales growth as a result of Europe (similar to that reported by AXP, EBAY, GOOG), we see the potential for downside to expectations as we believe the market is looking for overall results to come in above the high end of the guidance range. We note that our view is despite our higher-than-consensus Kindle and Kindle Fire unit shipments, which we believe will help drive North American sales in the quarter. Looking out to 1Q2012, we expect management to guide top-line growth to 28-38% yoy (in line with the three-year average, ex 1Q2009), or revenue of $12.60-$13.59bn. This compares to our estimate of $13.53bn and consensus of $13.36bn." Goldman Sachs maintains its Neutral rating and $190 price target on Amazon.com, which closed yesterday at $193.32.