Barnes & Noble Falls as Nook Sales "Short of Expectations"

Shares of Barnes & Noble BKS traded lower on Friday after the company released a brief summary of its 2012 holiday season sales results. The company said that retail revenues were down 10.9 percent versus the 2011 holiday shopping season and that NOOK revenue fell 12.6 percent to $311 million. Digital sales rose 12.6 percent in 2012 versus 2011. The overall numbers and the weakness in the company's key product, the NOOK e-reader, were cause for concern on Wall Street. Nearing the closing bell on Friday, the stock had lost more than 5 percent and was trading at $13.44. “We entered the holiday with two great new products, NOOK HD and NOOK HD+, both highly rated media tablets of phenomenal quality,” said William Lynch, Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble, Inc. “NOOK device sales got off to a good start over the Black Friday period, but then fell short of expectations for the balance of holiday. We are examining the root cause of the December shortfall in sales, and will adjust our strategies accordingly going forward.”