Amazon.com Inc. is expected to report financial results for the fourth quarter after the close of trading Thursday. Here are the key points to look out for:  EARNINGS FORECAST: Amazon is expected to post a profit of $1.56 per share, according to the average of analyst estimates compiled by Thomson Reuters. The company reported a profit of 45 cents per share in the year-earlier period. An expected profit of $754 million would equal the profits that Amazon cumulatively posted since 2011′s first quarter.  REVENUE FORECAST: Analysts on average expect sales to rise 23% to $36 billion, compared with revenue of $29.3 billion in the year-ago period.  –HOLIDAYS: Analyst expectations of a blowout quarter for Amazon contrast with rival eBay Inc.’s report of flat sales during the period. And Amazon seemed to loom large during the critical holiday selling season versus traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, which saw stagnant sales growth. Investors will be looking for signs that Amazon’s domination of e-commerce is sustainable without Christmas as a driver, particularly as rivals seek to carve out online niches.  –AWS: Amazon’s cloud computing division has emerged as a profit center for Amazon since it started releasing its results last year. It has rapidly gained customers who pay to rent computing power using Amazon’s data centers, and the division’s sales have risen nearly 70% in 2015′s first nine months, far outpacing the core retail business. With such lofty results come lofty expectations: Raymond James, for instance, is looking for a 73% increase in AWS sales for the fourth quarter. Amazon will have to prove it can maintain its torrid pace in AWS.  –EXPERIMENTS: Amazon has been rolling out an array of new services designed to get packages to customers more quickly and inexpensively, like its Prime Now one-hour delivery service, Flex Uber-like package dispatch and its own last mile network of trucks and vans. Now it has its sights set on air freight and, perhaps, freight by sea. What, if anything, will Amazon say about the success of these programs? Are they cutting into Amazon’s rapidly rising shipping and fulfillment expenses?  ______________________________________________________ For the latest news and analysis, follow @wsjd. And like us on Facebook to get our news right in your feed: Get breaking news and personal-tech reviews delivered right to your inbox. More from WSJ.D: And make sure to visit WSJ.D for all of our news, personal tech coverage, analysis and more, and add our XML feed to your favorite reader.
Amazon's earnings for the holiday quarter could equal the company's cumulative profit since 2011's first quarter. Here's what you need to know ahead of the report.