Ahead of the Bell: Amazon to Report 3Q Results

Amazon.com Inc. is slated to give its third-quarter report after the market close on Thursday. The results will show investors how much consumers are spending at the online retailer despite the still-sluggish economy.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect Seattle-based Amazon to report earnings of 33 cents per share on $5.03 billion in revenue. Amazon predicted third-quarter revenue of $4.75 billion to $5.25 billion.

Amazon earned 27 cents per share on $4.26 billion in revenue in the year-ago quarter.

In a recent note to clients, ThinkEquity analyst Ed Weller said that traffic data implies that unique visitors to Amazon's U.S. web sites rose 23 percent during the quarter. This should help overall traffic climb to 15 percent and boost overall sales, he said.

"What drives U.S. business may not drive equally elsewhere (significant factors being new products/services), but more traffic suggests some upside," he said.

Weller expects $5.13 billion in revenue and 35 cents per share in earnings.

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