Amazon.com Inc., the world’s biggest online retailer, said its second-quarter profit more than tripled after it reduced technology spending and boosted sales of electronics. The company also increased its annual sales forecast, and shares soared in after-hours trading.
Second-quarter net income rose to $78 million, or 19 cents a share, from $22 million, or 5 cents, a year earlier. The results beat analysts’ estimates by 3 cents.
Revenue rose 35 percent, to $2.89 billion, on increased sales of electronics, jewelry and books. The retailer cut back on the rate of spending on its Web sites and on newer products.
Amazon said sales for 2007 will be as much as $14.3 billion, higher than its April forecast of as much as $14 billion.
Shares of Amazon jumped more than 21 percent in after-hours trading, following a drop of $2.49, to $69.25, during the regular Nasdaq stock market session.
In other earnings news:
– DuPont Co. shares fell after the chemical-maker reported an unexpected decline in second-quarter profit as raw-material costs rose and slumping U.S. auto and housing markets eroded demand for paint and kitchen countertops.
Net income slipped 0.3 percent, to $972 million from $975 million a year earlier, and per-share profit was flat at $1.04. Revenue gained 5 percent, to $8.24 billion from $7.84 billion.
The stock had its biggest decline in two years as profit missed analysts’ estimates by 3 cents a share.
Energy and ingredient costs rose faster than prices, and the housing slump will persist, Chief Executive Charles Holliday Jr. said. DuPont is the world’s biggest car-paint producer and the maker of Corian countertops.
Shares of DuPont sank $3.36, or 6.3 percent, to $49.90, in NYSE trading. The percentage drop was the biggest since July 26, 2005, and the largest among the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones industrial average.
– PepsiCo Inc., the world’s second-largest maker of soft drinks, after Coca-Cola Co., said its second-quarter profit rose 13 percent on the strength of international sales.
But shares slipped as the firm said shipments for Gatorade sports drinks and Tropicana orange juice declined.
Quarterly profit was $1.56 billion, or 94 cents per share, up from $1.38 billion, or 81 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 10 percent, to $9.61 billion from $8.71 billion.
The company boosted its full-year earnings-per-share forecast to at least $3.35 from $3.30.
PepsiCo shares slid 33 cents, to $66.26, in NYSE trading.
– AT&T Inc. posted a 61 percent increase in second-quarter earnings, lifted primarily by its buyout of BellSouth Corp. but also aided by gains in wireless subscribers and revenue.
AT&T, the nation’s largest provider of broadband Internet and land and wireless phone services, said net income rose to $2.9 billion, or 47 cents per share, from $1.81 billion, or 46 cents per share, a year earlier when there were fewer shares outstanding.
Revenue was $29.48 billion, up from $15.77 billion.
AT&T shares lost 35 cents, to $39.68, in NYSE trading.
– United Parcel Service Inc., the world’s largest package-shipping company, said profit climbed 4 percent on rising overseas shipments.
Net income increased to $1.1 billion, or $1.04 a share, from $1.06 billion, or 97 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 4 percent, to $12.19 billion.
UPS rebounded from its first quarterly profit decline since 2003, as international sales expanded at more than seven times the pace of its domestic parcel-delivery business.
Results beat analyst expectations, sending UPS shares higher by 14 cents, to $74.68, in NYSE trading.
