Amazon (AMZN), Pandora (P) Disappoint on Q2 Earnings

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' methods of growing his company have literally nothing to do with quarterly earnings results, of course; his goal, as always, is larger and larger volume in more and more industries. Thus, 23% year-over-year growth in sales depicts the Amazon ship steady as she goes, and the company's operating cash flow reached $5.33 billion in the quarter, up 18%. However, favorable foreign exchange rates may have tweaked Amazon's revenue number higher, and analysts had been looking for 24-25% growth from Q2-13.

Beyond this, Amazon now has a plethora of tools and gadgets it's working into the marketplace, not the least of which is the Fire smartphone, which begins shipping today. It contains a host of other proprietary sensor systems like Firefly and Dynamic Perspective. If the Fire phone "gets hot" in Q3 and beyond (apologies), then perhaps Amazon might demonstrate a turnaround from its current hemorrhaging on its bottom line.

Amazon seems to be trying investors' patience right now, in fact. This earnings miss was likely the biggest we'll see this entire earnings season from one of the top stocks in the market. Currently, Amazon carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) on downwardly revised analyst estimates for 2014 and 2015.

Pandora upped its mobile ad revenue to 76%, but this was not enough to keep the stock from giving away all of its 4.25% gain at the close of regular Thursday trading, and then some. The company has plenty of competition in streaming music, and finding ways to more efficiently monetize has proven tough sledding for the company.