Amazon.com
But perhaps the biggest surprise came from Sara Lee
We'll know in a couple of weeks how good Amazon's prime shopping season turned out, when the company reports sales figures for the December quarter and month. I'm looking forward to online sales totals for traditional retailers like Wal-Mart
Apple, on the other hand, already flexed its muscles -- maybe even a bit too hard. The influx of new customers armed with shiny new iPods and iTunes gift cards from their Christmas stockings overwhelmed the iTunes site, which slowed to a crawl for a couple of days.
Amazon is a far cry from choking its network infrastructure, though sales do continue to grow. It's just not the firehose surge of the late '90s anymore. Revenues for the holiday quarter rose just 17% last year, compared with 2004, after a couple of years in the low 30s. And if peak sales are any indication, this quarter should see another 17% gain. Hardly the stuff of legend, and perhaps a sign that the Amazon business model is maturing.
Further Foolishness:
- The Grinch Is in the Details
- 2006 in Review: Apple
- Borat on Stocks Market
- The Worst Stock for 2007: Overstock
Wal-Mart is a Motley Fool Inside Value recommendation, while both Amazon and Disney are Motley Fool Stock Advisor picks. Free 30-day trials to all of our services abound -- take advantage of one today!
Fool contributor Anders Bylund is a Disney shareholder but holds no position in any of the companies discussed here. You can check out Anders' holdings if you like, and Foolish disclosure never disappoints.