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Since amazon invests all it's got in expansions and new offerings, It's really hard to talk about how much profit they make. And it's part of their advantage to
by hershel 13y ago
Since amazon invests all it's got in expansions and new offerings, It's really hard to talk about how much profit they make. And it's part of their advantage to keep this secret.
- jacques_chester 13y agoIt's not a secret and it's easy to talk about. Investments is in their cashflow statement. Per their 2012 Annual Report, with units in millions of dollars: Purchases of property and equipment, including internal-use software and website development (3,785) Which also booked elsewhere under Investing Activities in their cashflow statement. And profit: Net income (loss) (39) Amazon's free cashflow with investment would be about 4 billion dollars on the 2012 figures. In fact after investment they still booked $395M of free cashflow. Anyone can read these figures. You, me, Amazon's competitors. The Annual Report doesn't give the raw numbers, it gives a detailed discussion of what the numbers mean, how they are evolving and so on. This kind of disclosure is required by law so that investors aren't punished by unhappy surprises. There are some good books around on reading these kinds of figures, I recommend Financial Intelligence: A Manager's Guide to Knowing What the Numbers Really Mean.