Amazon: Estimates Still Too High, Says Barclays

Barclays Capital analyst Douglas Anmuth this morning cut his estimates for Amazon.com (AMZN) , asserting that the Street’s numbers for the online retailer look too high given negative comments on consumer spending from Best Buy , Target , Lowe’s , Nokia , Intel and others. Anmuth cut his Q4 EPS estimate to 34 cents, from 45 cents, bringing his 2008 number down to $1.31, from $1.42. (The Street consensus is 42 cents for the quarter and $1.40 for the year.) for 2009, he goes to $1.30, from $1.50, below the Street at $1.56. Anmuth says the lower numbers reflect - no surprises here - “continued deterioration in retail and in the broader macro environment, as well as great FX headwinds due to a stronger dollar.” (Seriously, I should have an F key that simply inserts some variation of that phrase; it would be a serious time saver.) Anmuth cut his target for AMZN to $46 from $50. He maintains his Equal Weight rating. AMZN today is up 9 cents, or 0.2%, to $39.78.  ... (link)