STOCKS TO WATCH: Amazon.com, Compaq, LSI, Nortel and Siebel Systems

The online retailer beat the Street in its third quarter, losing $68 million, or 25 cents a share, on sales of $638 million.

Analysts were expecting a loss of 33 cents a share in the quarter.

The $638 million in sales marked a 79 percent jump from the $355.8 million it reported in the year-ago quarter. Most analysts were expecting sales just shy of $600 million in the quarter.

The company said in its post-earnings conference call that its operating costs for the year 2000 will be less than 5 percent of sales.

Amazon.com shares closed off 44 cents to $29.56 ahead of the earnings report.

Keep an eye on Compaq Wednesday after it easily topped analysts' sales and earnings estimates in its third quarter but warned that currency woes in Europe will shave about $100 million from its fourth quarter earnings.

The PC maker expects to earn 37 cents a share in the fourth quarter, below the current First Call Corp. consensus estimate of 41 cents a share.

But the $11.2 billion in sales it recorded this quarter outpaced even the most optimistic estimates. It earned $550 million, or 31 cents a share, beating the Street view by 2 cents a share.

Its commercial PC business reported sales of $3.5 billion up 28 percent from the year-ago quarter. Consumer PC sales jumped 45 percent from the year-ago quarter to a robust $2.1 billion.

Compaq shares closed off 70 cents to $27 ahead of the earnings report.

The chipmaker will be active after it topped analysts' third-quarter estimates by a penny a share and provided more guidance for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2001.

In the quarter, it made $114 million, or 33 cents a share, on sales of $728 million.

First Call Corp. consensus expected the chipmaker to earn 32 cents a share in the quarter.

Its shares closed off $3.63 to $28.50 ahead of the earnings report.

"We have strong momentum heading into 2001 based upon our communications focus, record bookings and expanded manufacturing capacity," said CEO Wilfred Corrigan in a prepared release.

Company officials said communication chips now represent more than half of its total sales. It also it expects those sales to improve 65 percent or more in the coming year.

Corrigan said the company was comfortable with analysts' fourth-quarter earnings estimate of 36 cents a share.

LSI said it expects fourth-quarter sales to rise about 10 percent from the $728 million it posted this quarter.

Nortel will be active after it slipped past analysts' estimates in its third quarter, posting a profit of $574 million, or 18 cents a share, on sales of $7.31 billion. However, total sales fell short of analysts' estimates.

First Call Corp. consensus expected the network-equipment maker to earn 17 cents a share in the quarter.

Its shares closed off $4 to $62.94 ahead of the results.

The $7.31 billion in sales represents a 42 percent improvement from the year-ago quarter when it earned $314 million, or 11 cents a share, on sales of $5.15 billion.

Siebel will be on the move after it easily beat analysts' estimates in its third quarter, earning $71 million, or 14 cents a share, on sales of $480.9 million.

Analysts surveyed by First Call Corp. predicted the software developer would earn 11 cents a share in the quarter.

Siebel shares closed up $2.94 to $112.75 ahead of the earnings report.

The $480.9 million in sales represents a 131 percent jump from the year-ago quarter when it pocketed $27.3 million, or 6 cents a share, on sales of $208.5 million.

In the quarter, licensing sales rose to $300.4 million, up from $127.7 million a year ago. Revenue from maintenance, consulting and other services stormed up to $180.6 million, compared with $80.8 million in the year-ago quarter.