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Empresas y finanzas

Amazon holiday sales in line, stock drops


    SEATTLE (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc reported close-to-expected sales for the crucial holiday quarter, with less growth than some had hoped for outside North America, pushing its shares down more than 9 percent after hours.

    The world's largest Internet retailer, which has steadily chipped away at its brick-and-mortar rivals' market share, racked up $25.6 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter, versus expectations for just above $26 billion.

    The company, which tends to focus on creating new markets and products rather than immediate profit, posted net income of $239 million, or 51 cents per share, compared with $97 million, or 21 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

    Net sales rose 20 percent to $25.6 billion, up from $21.3 billion in the year ago quarter.

    International sales rose just 13 percent, below Wall Street expectations for around 14 percent to 15 percent growth.

    (Reporting by Bill Rigby; editing by Andrew Hay)