GROWTH WORRIES SKEWER AMAZON

On second thought, investors aren’t quite so bullish on Amazon.com’s third-quarter results after all.

Despite quadrupling profits and reporting a 41 percent jump in revenue on Tuesday, analysts’ concerns over the company’s future growth sparked an almost 12 percent decline in the online retail giant’s stock yesterday.

Amazon shares sank $12.09 to $88.73, erasing a more than 10 percent gain ahead of the earnings announcement that pushed the company’s stock up to $100.82 – its highest level since late 1999.

Analysts fretted the company will not continue to grow at the pace it has over the past two quarters.

Third-quarter earnings soared to $80 million from $19 million a year ago, while revenue jumped to $3.26 billion from $2.31 billion, driven by strong demand for the latest Harry Potter book.

Amazon said it sold 2.5 million copies of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” worldwide, making it the company’s largest new product release.

But following the earnings announcement, Citigroup noted that “now that incremental margins are trimming down, Amazon’s [earning per share] growth outlook isn’t so open-ended, and Amazon’s valuation deserves tighter scrutiny.”

Amazon is forecasting that fourth-quarter operating income will be between $221 million and $291 million – a gain of as much as 48 percent over the 2006 fourth quarter.