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Amazon's earnings in the fourth quarter of 2007 weren't at all bad.  Shares have still dropped, however, and there's some concern over the company's future operating income.

We'll start out by addressing that possible problem.  Dan Gallagher reports, "For the fourth quarter, Amazon said operating income grew 38% to $271 million.  That equates to an operating margin of about 4.8% - lower than the 5.3% analysts were expecting for the period."  Which, of course, isn't great.

It may not be entirely to blame for the stock fall (Amazon closed at around $74 and opened nearer to $69), though, as the whole market is taking a hit this morning.  Also, even if margin outlook isn't spectacular, analysts were pretty pleased with everything else.

Seeking Alpha collected positive comments from Citigroup, RBC Capital, Banc of America, and Morgan Stanley.  All four firms raised target prices, and "Notable Calls" writes that the last of the group "believes investors who are overly focused on margin expansion may be 'fighting with windmills' and miss the opportunity with the stock."

We'll see where this goes, then, but at least Amazon's earnings call didn't include mention of any layoffs.