Amazon posted a 23-per-cent rise in second-quarter revenue Thursday, with sales at the web’s largest retailer climbing to 19.3 billion dollars.
But the company’s grow-at-all-costs strategy took a heavy toll, with Amazon posting a $126 million loss in the quarter, compared to a loss of $7 million a year earlier. Even worse for Amazon investors was a projected third-quarter loss of as much as $810 million.
The figures sent shares in the giant online store down 6 per cent in after-hours trading.
The financial results came a day before Amazon is due to release its latest innovation, the Fire phone, an Amazon-linked smartphone that the company hopes will prompt users to increase their mobile purchases on the site.
Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos didn’t address the loss in the earnings release, but mentioned new ventures.
“We continue working hard on making the Amazon customer experience better and better,” he said in a statement.