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Amazon: a good read
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April 27, 1998: 6:56 p.m. ET
Online bookseller's 1Q loss ahead of forecasts, offers two-for-one stock split
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Amazon.com, Inc. Monday reported a first-quarter net loss of 40 cents a share, coming in well ahead of Wall Street expectations.
The online bookseller said it posted a net loss of $9.3 million on $87.4 million in sales. Amazon lost $3 million, or 16 cents a share, on $16 million in sales in the same quarter a year ago.
First Call estimates forecast a net loss of 47 cents a share.
Amazon is one of several Internet-related companies that have boasted strong stock performances in spite of poor earnings. In March, the company said it expected to report "substantial operating losses" for the foreseeable future."
"We are very pleased with our acceleration in new customer acquisition," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon president and chief executive officer. "It took us 27 months to serve our first million customers, and less than six months to serve our second million."
Amazon also announced that it has acquired three Internet companies: Internet Movie Database Ltd. and European book retailers Bookpages, Ltd. and Telebook, Inc.
Amazon expects Bookpages and Telebook to boost its expansion into the European market, while Internet Movie Database will support its eventual entry into online video sales.
The company paid an undisclosed amount of cash for the companies and will take a charge of about $55 million to make the deals.
Last week, Amazon launched a pilot version of its online music area. The company said it intends to launch a large music CD sales site by the end of the year.
Amazon also announced that its board of directors has approved a two-for-one split of its common shares. Shareholders will receive one additional share for every share held on the record date of May 20.
Shares of Amazon (AMZN) were off 2-1/8 to 82-3/4 at Monday's close but climbed to 85 in after-hours trading. 
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