BusinessInsider: Amazon Misses On Earnings

[kjk]

http://www.businessinsider.com/amazo...rnings-2011-10

It's a slight miss on the top line and big miss on the bottom line.
The guidance is very weak, sending the stock tanking 18% in after-hours trading.

The fact that the company is projecting a possible operating income loss all but confirms that its losing a lot of money on the Kindle Fire. In the earnings release Amazon says, "Based on what we're seeing with Kindle Fire pre-orders, we're increasing capacity and building millions more than we'd already planned.”

Sounds like Amazon is in the tablet business for the long haul-Bezos has never been afraid to take losses upfront for his future vision.

[SensualPoet]

An unsung story for Amazon is the amazing number of jobs they are creating and HAVE created in the past 18 months as they have expanded the number US-based distribution centres.

I'd be a little cautious that they can have such vast revenues and not turn that into actual profit. At some point, they need to ease off on the investment a bit and let the profits catch up. They have a unique opportunity in the online streaming space and now is the time to seize that opportunity (which is what Kindle Fire is all about) so I don't begrudge them. Still ... they need to do better on retaining some profits.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by kjk

http://www.businessinsider.com/amazo...rnings-2011-10


Sounds like Amazon is in the tablet business for the long haul-Bezos has never been afraid to take losses upfront for his future vision.

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

An unsung story for Amazon is the amazing number of jobs they are creating and HAVE created in the past 18 months as they have expanded the number US-based distribution centres.

I'd be a little cautious that they can have such vast revenues and not turn that into actual profit. At some point, they need to ease off on the investment a bit and let the profits catch up. They have a unique opportunity in the online streaming space and now is the time to seize that opportunity (which is what Kindle Fire is all about) so I don't begrudge them. Still ... they need to do better on retaining some profits.

Don't you just love the sound of the "die" rattling in the cup?

No. Jeff Bezos isn't gambling. He is just planning and playing big. The problem would be if he didn't have enough to cover the move.

[taming]

Amazon opened for business in 1995 and did not turn a profit until 2001. I remember the folks who said that Jeff Bezos was out of his head for pursuing a strategy that concentrated on getting all of his very expensive ducks in a row instead of immediate profitability.

From Wikipedia:

Amazon's initial business plan was unusual: the company did not expect a profit for four to five years. Its "slow" growth provoked stockholder complaints that the company was not reaching profitability fast enough. When the dot-com bubble burst, and many e-companies went out of business, Amazon persevered, and finally turned its first profit in the fourth quarter of 2001:

[RainingLemur]

Originally Posted by taming

Amazon opened for business in 1995 and did not turn a profit until 2001. I remember the folks who said that Jeff Bezos was out of his head for pursuing a strategy that concentrated on getting all of his very expensive ducks in a row instead of immediate profitability.

From Wikipedia:

Wow. Having never really looked into the history of Amazon...I never realized it took them so long to become profitable. Good on them for sticking through.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by taming

Amazon opened for business in 1995 and did not turn a profit until 2001. I remember the folks who said that Jeff Bezos was out of his head for pursuing a strategy that concentrated on getting all of his very expensive ducks in a row instead of immediate profitability.

From Wikipedia:

Originally Posted by RainingLemur

Wow. Having never really looked into the history of Amazon...I never realized it took them so long to become profitable. Good on them for sticking through.

You know, I don't know when I started using Amazon. Must be some way to look that up.

[Andanzas]

Originally Posted by frahse

You know, I don't know when I started using Amazon. Must be some way to look that up.

Go to Your Orders. In the Date menu, you can see the first year you placed an order with Amazon.

[JeremyR]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

An unsung story for Amazon is the amazing number of jobs they are creating and HAVE created in the past 18 months as they have expanded the number US-based distribution centres.

Unfortunately, none of that matters any more in today's business world, which seemingly focuses solely on stock prices and short term profits based on shuffling stocks around by daytrading. (Look at all the glory/acclaim Warren Buffet gets, and basically that's all he is - a stock picker.)

It's like the uproar this summer about stock owners wanting Nintendo to stop making their own handhelds and start making iOS games, just because the 3DS has a slow start.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by JeremyR

Unfortunately, none of that matters any more in today's business world, which seemingly focuses solely on stock prices and short term profits based on shuffling stocks around by daytrading. (Look at all the glory/acclaim Warren Buffet gets, and basically that's all he is - a stock picker.)

Believe me, things weren't any different in the 90's.

Or in the 80's, for that matter.

Buffett picks stocks, but so what - he's really good at it.

It's like the uproar this summer about stock owners wanting Nintendo to stop making their own handhelds and start making iOS games, just because the 3DS has a slow start.

[kennyc]

Amazon wins ... I didn't sell any stock today.

Maybe I'll buy some more, it's a bargain!

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

An unsung story for Amazon is the amazing number of jobs they are creating and HAVE created in the past 18 months as they have expanded the number US-based distribution centres.

Depends what you mean. From what I've read, those jobs are crap temp jobs where staff are cheated into working harder based on the false possibility of getting a permanent job. They station medics outside to cart away workers who collapse from the heat and when they wake up they find they're contract is terminated. Kind of like Apple in China (Kapcomm staff were on suicide watch).

Anyway, it depends what you mean...I suppose from a financial point of view it's worth singing about, but from a human point of view it's a cause for great shame. Good on you Amazon, not.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Rizla

Depends what you mean. From what I've read, those jobs are crap temp jobs where staff are cheated into working harder based on the false possibility of getting a permanent job. They station medics outside to cart away workers who collapse from the heat and when they wake up they find they're contract is terminated. Kind of like Apple in China (Kapcomm staff were on suicide watch).

Anyway, it depends what you mean...I suppose from a financial point of view it's worth singing about, but from a human point of view it's a cause for great shame. Good on you Amazon, not.

First I've heard of this. Got any actual proof to back that up?

[MikeCL]

Originally Posted by Andanzas

Go to Your Orders. In the Date menu, you can see the first year you placed an order with Amazon.

For some reason mine only shows 2011 but my first order was around 2004.

[cHex]

My first recorded order was in 1996...then nothing again until 2001.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by kennyc

First I've heard of this. Got any actual proof to back that up?

Yeah, somebody posted it in these boards. Links to a couple of newspaper articles on it. I'll see if I can find the links.

Edit: Here they are:

Amazon Employees Contend With 110 Degree Heat In Allentown, Penn. Warehouse

Amazon: You're hired … no wait, you're not