Amazon drops bummer earnings, haunted by rising costs and holiday demand

Primed for disappointment... With the holidays approaching and shortages wreaking global havoc, all eyes were on Amazon earnings yesterday. Refresher: Amazon’s sales hit a record $125B for the quarter ending last December, but year-over-year growth has been slowing. The Zon's shares still haven't recovered from lackluster earnings in July. Its latest earnings were even worse than expected.

• Plunging profit: Profit plunged by nearly half, to $3.2B, down from $6.3B in the same quarter last year — way worse than expected.
• Slo-mo sales: Sales grew just 15% from last year, to $110B — slowing from 27% growth in the previous quarter, and 44% in the one before that.
• Forlorn forecast: Amazon expects sales to slow even more this quarter, as buyers return to IRL stores. Rival eBay also lowered forecasts for online holiday shopping.

Save the Ted Lasso ’fit for next Halloween... That's when it's arriving. Holiday spending is expected to smash records this year, but retailers are sweating to meet demand. Nearly everything is in short supply, and materials and labor costs are surging. Amazon expects to face billions in extra costs this quarter to manage higher shipping prices and rising wages — "all while doing whatever it takes to minimize the impact on customers." It plans to hire 150K seasonal staff in the US, 50% more than last year — plus 160K workers overseas.