After months of run-up, and a big, 9% move today, the pressure was on Amazon to beat, and beat big. The company did beat. The 19 cents was a penny better than the Street expected. And revenue also came in a little stronger than expected.
And therein lies the problem. "A little stronger" hardly justifies a stock that's tripled this past year. Guidance seemed strong going into the fourth quarter, where Amazon sees so much business because of holiday shopping.
And while the mid-point of operating income guidance moved a little higher, the high-end came down quite a bit.
Say it with me: ho hum. Which is unfortunate. A classic case of good simply not being good enough. Sell on the news. Profit-taking. Call it what you will; just don't call it an Amazon rally.
If there's good news to be had here, Amazon shares were expected to move anywhere from 15% to 25% on the earnings news. With this report, there could've been devastation in Amazon shares. That didn't happen. These were solid numbers, but nothing to extend the broad-based, consistent rally that fed into the news before the numbers came out.
Which is unfortunate. The company's doing well. But shares far outpaced reality and investors will have to deal with the tepid aftermath.
Questions? Comments? TechCheck@cnbc.com