Amazon shares sink

(Reuters) – Shares of Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN.OFall Wall Street Targets, fanning concerns that the expansion market may finally be losing steam.

The third trimester results late on Thursday was the second time running that billionaire Jeff Bezos 'firm had fallen short of Wall Street' s lofty sales targets, and the numbers felt a shockwave reverberating through global stock markets.

The fall in shares, if sold when U.S. stock markets open officially, would knock nearly $ 90 billion off Amazon's market value and relegate it behind Microsoft Corp.MSFT.O) and Apple Inc (AAPL.O) in terms of market value.

There have been no downgrades, however, from the Wall Street analysts who have almost universally backed the company's long-term prospects.

Only three brokerages cut their price targets, and said Amazon's long-term growth story remained intact.

"Shares are up 52 percent YTD, so this kind of 'growth scare' is likely to weigh in, but it's likely to be itself out (likely by 1Q19)," analyst Barclays Ross Sandler wrote in a client note.

The world's largest retailer is facing hurdles to boost sales in international markets.BBY.N), Target Corp (TGT.N) and Walmart Inc (WMT.Nwho are stepping up digital investments.

Revenue from Amazon's international business, which brings in 27.5 percent of total sales, rose 13.4 percent in the third quarter, missing estimates, and decelerating from a 27 percent year-on-year expansion in the previous quarter.

"We do not see any real structural issue with Amazon, but we are decelerating a tad, and we typically have a problem with this," Sandler said.

Amazon expects sales to be between 10 percent and 20 percent, or up to $ 72.5 billion, while analysts were expecting $ 73.9 billion, according to Refinitiv data. [nL3N1X56IW]

Its operating profit of between $ 2.1 trillion and $ 3.6 trillion also came in below consensus estimates.

Several analysts called the company's outlook conservative and

"Overall, Amazon's growth trajectory remains solid, including advertising, grocery, pharmacy, and specialty retail, as well as Amazon Business ($ 10 billion in sales in eight countries) and Amazon Web Services," Telsey Advisory Group analysts said.

Shares of the company were down 9.7 percent at $ 1,610 in trading before the bell.