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I think Amazon's profit per employee is around $6K. Compare to Apple at $600K. Amazon is practically a non-profit. Not surprising, as they play in a shitty,

by codex 14y ago

I think Amazon's profit per employee is around $6K. Compare to Apple at $600K. Amazon is practically a non-profit. Not surprising, as they play in a shitty, ghetto space--retail.

tjdetwiler 14y ago
Apple is hardly the norm
blaines 14y ago
You're comparing Apples and Amazons here. The two things have similarities but are not alike.
tsotha 14y ago
>I think Amazon's profit per employee is around $6K. Compare to Apple at $600K. Amazon lost money, so what does it mean to say its profit per employee is $6k? Anyway, a company that plows all its extra cash into growth doesn't make any profit in the short term, but if they're doing it right they'll make more money in the end. They went for a lot of years without making anything - now they're in a growth phase again.
polyfractal 14y ago
Besides what other people have mentioned, there is also the fact that Amazon employs a lot of people, and many of them are performing relatively mundane service jobs. Picking and packing products from the Amazon warehouses requires a large workforce, despite all the advancements in automatic warehousing. Profit per employee isn't really a useful number in this respect.
- codex 14y ago
  This is my point; that Amazon is a shitty business because they have chosen a terrible sector: retail. That's what you get when your main competitor is Walmart. Look at the absolute profit numbers: 1/40th the profits of Microsoft; 1/100th the annual profits of Apple; 1/30th the annual profits of Google. That said, they are desperately trying to get into real tech. businesses.
  - polyfractal 14y ago
    Fair point - everyone knows that retail is a razor-thin margin arena to play in. I would argue that their profitability is a lot more stable than Apple. A few missteps and Apple is no longer the golden child. They have to continue to innovate or they lose their special status. Executing on a retail strategy is in many ways simpler than "build the next innovative consumer electronics widget...sell for astronomical price". I'd take stock in Amazon over Apple any day.

by codex 14y ago

I think Amazon's profit per employee is around $6K. Compare to Apple at $600K. Amazon is practically a non-profit. Not surprising, as they play in a shitty, ghetto space--retail.

tjdetwiler 14y ago

Apple is hardly the norm

blaines 14y ago

You're comparing Apples and Amazons here. The two things have similarities but are not alike.

tsotha 14y ago

>I think Amazon's profit per employee is around $6K. Compare to Apple at $600K. Amazon lost money, so what does it mean to say its profit per employee is $6k? Anyway, a company that plows all its extra cash into growth doesn't make any profit in the short term, but if they're doing it right they'll make more money in the end. They went for a lot of years without making anything - now they're in a growth phase again.

polyfractal 14y ago

Besides what other people have mentioned, there is also the fact that Amazon employs a lot of people, and many of them are performing relatively mundane service jobs. Picking and packing products from the Amazon warehouses requires a large workforce, despite all the advancements in automatic warehousing. Profit per employee isn't really a useful number in this respect.

codex 14y ago
This is my point; that Amazon is a shitty business because they have chosen a terrible sector: retail. That's what you get when your main competitor is Walmart. Look at the absolute profit numbers: 1/40th the profits of Microsoft; 1/100th the annual profits of Apple; 1/30th the annual profits of Google. That said, they are desperately trying to get into real tech. businesses.
- polyfractal 14y ago
  Fair point - everyone knows that retail is a razor-thin margin arena to play in. I would argue that their profitability is a lot more stable than Apple. A few missteps and Apple is no longer the golden child. They have to continue to innovate or they lose their special status. Executing on a retail strategy is in many ways simpler than "build the next innovative consumer electronics widget...sell for astronomical price". I'd take stock in Amazon over Apple any day.