Amazon shares hit on growth concerns

Amazon.com Inc's stock sank on Friday on concern about slowing growth at the world's largest Internet retailer.

Late Thursday, the company reported slower revenue growth and offered a disappointing outlook for this quarter, exacerbating uncertainty about the health of its business beyond the United States.

Amazon faces a sluggish European economy and inconsistent efforts to break into emerging markets such as China, where competition from the likes of Alibaba is intense.

"Amazon's now growing at about 2x eCommerce, compared to 3x a year ago," Doug Anmuth, an analyst at JP Morgan, wrote in a note to investors following the company's results.

Traditional retailers are losing less market share to Amazon than they used to as they increase selection online, price-match more aggressively, and work to combat showrooming, Anmuth argued.

Amazon shares were down 7.3 percent at USD 254.63 late on Friday morning on the Nasdaq.