Approach delivers results
Amazon’s fourth quarter profit reached 214 million dollars (190 million euro), almost three times as high as analysts had forecast. Turnover was slightly lower than expected however, at 29.3 billion dollars (26 billion euro).
All in all, Amazon cannot really be satisfied with its performance in 2014, as it had to deal with losses in its previous 2 quarters. Still, CEO Jeff Bezos might feel empowered by Amazon’s fourth quarter performance as it legitimizes his approach: he feels the company should always keep investing, to boost income which in turn will lead to a small profit.
Amazon’s costs also rose 15 % in its fourth quarter, up to 28.7 billion dollars (25.3 billion euro), partly because the company has invested heavily in its own movie and TV series business. A 20.9 – 22.9 billion dollar (18.5 – 20.2 billion euro) turnover is expected for the first quarter of 2015.
