Amazon Turns Investor Attention From Growth to Big Profits
- Bezos used to preach investment. CFO now talks efficiencies
- Cloud, ads, third-party merchant sales make more money
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Amazon.com Inc. investors have traditionally given it a pass on money-losing quarters and narrow profit margins so long as revenue growth kept surpassing expectations. That dynamic flipped on Thursday, propelling the 24-year-old company into a potentially steadier phase.
Amazon reported a record second-quarter profit of $2.53 billion, or $5.07 per share. The Seattle-based company has generated net income of $4.16 billion in the first half of this year, more than the previous seven quarters combined, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In 2014, Amazon lost $131 million.