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> Amazon pioneered the idea that you do not need to be profitable, in fact you can lose money every single day, month, year, for the sake of growth. Amazon has
by kgwgk 7y ago
> Amazon pioneered the idea that you do not need to be profitable, in fact you can lose money every single day, month, year, for the sake of growth.
Amazon has reported profits almost every year since 2003 (the only exceptions are 2012 and 2014). The loss accumulated in 1994/2002 was $3bn ($4.3bn adjusted for inflation). Uber has been losing over $3bn per year since 2016 ($15bn so far).
- cosmodisk 7y agoSalesforce is a better example of this,that kept going in negative,while at the same time buying companies left and right.I think it took them good 15 years before they showed profit. However,this is a deliberate and I'd say quite smart business decision.
- kgwgk 7y agoIs it? Salesforce reported annual profits starting in 2004, the year of the IPO (it was founded in 1999). Accumulated earnings were already positive in 2008. It had a good run of GAAP profitability (2004-2011) before losing much more than it had earned before in 2012-2016.
- perl4ever 7y agoI assume that's true, but you're missing the perspective that 2003 was well after the crash, and to someone who lived through it and generally aware but not an expert, it really seemed like they would never make money, their stock had cratered, and they were just staggering on a bit longer than other dotcom flameouts. I mean, that was the picture you got from the financial press (remember when Apple was always described as "troubled" or "beleaguered"?)