Amazon Q3 loss narrows; revenue soars to $17 billion

New York -- Amazon.com narrowed its loss in the third quarter and posted a better-than-expected 25% increase in sales. The online giant reported a net loss of $41 million, down from $274 million in the year-ago period, in line with expectations.



Amazon reported revenue of $17.1 billion, beating expectations by about 2% on strong sales growth, particularly in the U.S. market.



“It’s been a busy few months,” said Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos. “We launched a new Paperwhite and new Kindle Fires to positive reviews and surprised people with the revolutionary Mayday button. Average Mayday response times are just 11 seconds.”



Bezos added that in the last 90 days, Amazon brought 8 million square feet of fulfillment center capacity online, deployed 1,382 Kiva robots in three centers provided a new venue for artists to reach customers, and signed up millions of consumers to its Prime service.



Amazon issued guidance that cheered investors. It forecast net revenue of between $23.5 billion and $26.5 billion, marking 10% to 25% growth, versus fourth quarter 2012.