Amazon shares tumble, Broadcom up after hours

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) � A shortfall in sales figures sparked a sell-off in shares of online retailer Amazon.com Inc. Tuesday evening, while Broadcom Inc.�s shares found strength from the chip maker�s quarterly sales outlook.

Amazon AMZN �shares tumbled 8.7% to $177.55 as the company said revenue was $17.4 billion, up from $12.95 billion a year ago but weaker than the $18.3 billion estimate for the most recent period produced by a FactSet Research survey of analysts.

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Amazon�s first-quarter revenue outlook also was light. Amazon forecast of $12 billion to $13.4 billion was below Wall Street�s projection of $13.4 billion in sales. Amazon also said a loss in operating results may be in sight. Read more about Amazon�s results.

Fourth-quarter net income on a per-share basis at Amazon was 38 cents a share, surpassing Wall Street�s forecast for earnings of 17 cents a share. The result for the most recent quarter fell from 91 cents a share a year ago .

Shares of Broadcom BRCM �picked up 2% to trade at $35.05. The company said it expects to report first-quarter sales of $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion. Analysts currently expect revenue of $1.73 billion. See story about results from Broadcom.

Adjusted earnings for the fourth quarter were 68 cents a share, and revenue fell to $1.82 billion from $1.95 billion. The projection from Wall Street called for Broadcom�s earnings to come in at 64 cents a share on revenue of $1.81 billion.

Net earnings for the fourth quarter at Broadcom were $254 million, or 45 cents a share, compared with $266 million, or 47 cents a share, a year ago.

Also higher, shares of Seagate Technology Inc. STX �were up 6.2% at $22.45 as the hard-disk drive maker�s fiscal second-quarter financial results outstripped Wall Street�s forecast. Read more about Seagate's Q2 report.

Better-than-expected results from network-security company Fortinet Inc. FTNT �were followed by an 8.7% surge in shares to $24.80. The company�s fourth-quarter earnings on an adjusted basis were 14 cents a share on revenue of $120.9 million. Analysts estimated 12 cents a share in earnings and $116.5 million in sales. See more about Fortinet's Q4 report.

Ahead of the late-trading session, U.S. stocks mostly finished lower after lackluster economic data. But the key equity indexes marked their best January in more than a decade.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA �ended the daily session down 21 points, or 0.2%, to 12,632.91. It rose 3.4% for the month. The S&P 500 Index SPX �slipped less than a point to 1,312.41. But the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP �fought for a gain of 2 points, or 0.1%, to end at 2,813.84. Read about Tuesday�s action in U.S. stocks.

For the month, the S&P 500 Index rose 4.4% and the Nasdaq Composite surged 8%, its best January since 2001.