Amazon Starts Flexing Muscle in New Space (reuters.com) 70
A cargo plane emblazoned with "Prime Air" descended from an empty sky at Lehigh Valley International Airport on Tuesday, ninety minutes from the bustle of New York City, loaded with crates of goods during the peak holiday shopping season. From a report on Reuters: It's one of 40 jets leased by Amazon.com Inc for a new cargo service to meet delivery demand from the retail giant's customers. Exclusive payload data reviewed by Reuters and interviews with airport officials around the country show that Prime Air planes are flying nearly full, but with lightweight loads, taking away valued business from FedEx Corp and United Parcel Service Inc. Expanding into transportation, from trucks to planes, is one of Amazon's most important endeavors as it strives to lure new customers with fast shipping while keeping costs under control. The world's largest online retailer is sending more packages, more often, and later in the day to serve its estimated 35 million to more than 50 million U.S. members of Amazon Prime, a service that promises two-day shipping for $99 per year.
Re:Still profit-neutral (Score:4, Informative)
Sooner or later Amazon has to start paying dividends...
No, they don't. They just need to keep their share price afloat. Dividends are not a requirement of any company, and there are plenty out there that don't pay them. They are a nice perk, for sure, but not some sort of "you must do this or go out of business".
Re: (Score:2)
They just need to keep their share price afloat.
Amazon is still pretending to be a tech stock when they should be a dividend-paying blue chip stock?
Dividends require profits (Score:2)
Amazon is still pretending to be a tech stock when they should be a dividend-paying blue chip stock?
To pay dividends you need to be kicking off lots of spare cash. Amazon has never fit that description once in their existence. They reinvest pretty much all profits back into growing the company.
Re: (Score:2)
They reinvest pretty much all profits back into growing the company.
I've always thought Amazon's strategy was: "Let's buy another company to distract the shareholders from the fact that we don't have any profits to our name."
Amazon could easily be profitable (Score:2)
I've always thought Amazon's strategy was: "Let's buy another company to distract the shareholders from the fact that we don't have any profits to our name."
Amazon could have fairly substantial profits today if they really cared to. But that would be rather short sighted of them. I've done the analysis on their financial statements. The company actually kicks off a fair bit of free cash flow but they are plowing most of it back into various investments. Some sensible, some not so much. They are no longer some fly by night dotcom.
Re:Amazon could easily be profitable (Score:4, Insightful)
There are times when investing in a company which does not pay dividends is a good move, but when it becomes clear that part of the company's business strategy is to NEVER pay dividends that is not one of them.
Re: (Score:2)
Most of the stock market is playing that game now. It's all about anticipating fluctuations in the stock's price and trading it around. Dividends would need a long term investment to pay off.
Re: (Score:2)
That's two of the three benefits for owning a stock in the company. The other one is actual ownership stake in a business. In theory you have a say in the board meeting (albeit very small), and steer the company in the long term, including asking the board to issue dividends in the future.
Of course this requires buying a lot of the stock to have any real say in the company, and be really active. But still it's possible in theory.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Pick any 5 year period since 2007 and you'll find that an investment in Amazon at the start of that period pays well at the end of it.
There was a similar period of time when that could be said of Enron.
Re: (Score:2)
Except that you do not get any of that value unless someone else is willing to give you their money for it.
If only there was a place where one might find people willing to purchase stock...
Re: (Score:3)
Their financials have started to be less secretive. It's been clear for a couple of years now that the core businesses, retail and AWS, are quite profitable before reinvestment. Whether they'll grow into their stock price is anyone's guess, but it's not impossible.
The cargo planes are a different matter - it's not a new business, it's all about owning the distribution side. Amazon is getting too big for FedEx and UPS.
Re: (Score:2)
I've always thought Amazon's strategy was: "Let's buy another company to distract the shareholders from the fact that we don't have any profits to our name."
That's what creimer said. They think they are a Tech company.
Re: (Score:3)
Sooner or later Amazon has to start paying dividends...
No, they don't. They just need to keep their share price afloat. Dividends are not a requirement of any company, and there are plenty out there that don't pay them. They are a nice perk, for sure, but not some sort of "you must do this or go out of business".
Coming soon: Amazon Shareholder Prime -- "now with dividends"
Re: (Score:2)
Sooner or later Amazon has to start paying dividends...
No, they don't. They just need to keep their share price afloat. Dividends are not a requirement of any company, and there are plenty out there that don't pay them.
Well, sure, in one scenario a company never turns a profit. In fact, many sole proprietorships and other small companies do just this, they just "zero out" by paying the principals the remaining profit as a bonus each year.
If, on the other hand, a company makes a profit, that profit must either be reinvested in the company or returned to shareholders in the form of dividends or stock buybacks. That extra money has to go somewhere, if only into the company's bank account (or embezzled by the CFO to pay for b
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Sooner or later Amazon has to start paying dividends...
No, they don't. They just need to keep their share price afloat. Dividends are not a requirement of any company, and there are plenty out there that don't pay them.
If, on the other hand, a company makes a profit, that profit must either be reinvested in the company or returned to shareholders in the form of dividends or stock buybacks.
No, that is not a requirement at all. Just look at Apple. They could have built their new headquarters out of literal stacks of cash they were sitting on before they finally started to pay a dividend. Ditto with Microsoft. These are not non-profits, they are allowed to accumulate cash if they wish.
Re: (Score:2)
No, that is not a requirement at all. Just look at Apple. They could have built their new headquarters out of literal stacks of cash they were sitting on before they finally started to pay a dividend. Ditto with Microsoft. These are not non-profits, they are allowed to accumulate cash if they wish.
Both stock paid dividends this year buddy.
Re:Good for them (Score:4, Informative)
I live in western Washington state. We've had the Amazon delivery people for quite some time now - and I don't share your rosy opinion of the company's priorities. I think they've saved money by hiring people who wouldn't make the cut for other businesses, on the cheap.
Amazon-delivered packages often end up in puddles or dropped over the front yard fence. We have a big sign saying "please deliver to back door", with an arrow pointing towards the (non-fenced) door maybe 15 feet away... and Amazon drivers have left packages, exposed to the elements, right below that sign. Either they just don't care, or they can't read English (my daughter has interacted with a couple Amazon drivers, and she suspects the latter).
I've never had an issue with FedEx or UPS drivers like that. The only people who seemed as bad as the Amazon crew were the USPS folks, back when they were doing Sunday deliveries for Amazon.
Re: (Score:2)
FedEx and UPS hire the dregs, mostly ex-cons and wanna-be criminals.
Apparently they are "dregs" who at least have been screened for literacy.
It's funny how these pro-Amazon-delivery comments here are being posted anonymously... I take it Bezos lets you browse the web while you're on the clock?
Re: (Score:2)
They have time pressures so they don't want to walk that far. hell some just pitch them out over the fence
Re: (Score:2)
FedEx is definitely among the worst.
Twice in the past year or so I've had a large-ish packages arrive that required a signature. FedEx left a note and required that I go to their office (about 20 minutes away) to pick up the package. There was no option to schedule re-delivery for a time that I'd be home (without paying extra) or to sign to let them leave it at the front door or with a neighbor (I work during the day, like most of us). UPS in comparison has multiple pickup places within minutes of my hou
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Canada Post is the worst of the bunch. They absolutely REFUSE to knock or ring a doorbell, instead leaving boxes in plain sight on my front porch next to a busy road for anyone to see. Additionally, despite having a post office 2 blocks away, they refuse to send any packages there instead preferring to send them to a much further one. Not to mention that packages can sit for multiple weeks sometimes with no accountability (I had one sitting at the sorting centre a few blocks from my house for 2 weeks at one
Re: (Score:2)
Canada Post is the worst of the bunch. They absolutely REFUSE to knock or ring a doorbell, instead leaving boxes in plain sight on my front porch next to a busy road for anyone to see.
So whats the problem? Claim every package left like that as missing and collect insurance.
Re: (Score:2)
>I've never had an issue with FedEx or UPS drivers like that.
We have that issue all the time. Business downstairs with big sign declaring that the business is right there. We live upstairs. Packages to the business usually get taken upstairs and packages to the home usually get taken downstairs. It's frequent enough that it has to be deliberate. On the other hand, when the Amazon van comes around (as has happened a few times in December) they always look at the label and take it to the right place.
Prime... not so much any more (Score:2)
I'm an Amazon prime member in rural Montana. FedEx and UPS get my 2-day shipments to me in 2 business days from the time they get the package almost every time, barring bad weather. I rarely have any problems with either service.
Amazon, however, has within the last year been failing to get 2-day air out within 24 hours (and sometimes quite a bit longer) of when the item is ordered. So "Prime 2-day" delivery can be 3- or 4- or 5-day delivery. It used to be that if I ordered early in the morning, say 9 AM my
Re: (Score:2)
Explain why a company that pays dividends is less likely to skimp on customer service. Penny pinching is pinching pennies, irrespective of whether they end up stuffed in shareholder equity or paid out as dividends.
Re: (Score:2)
Constant growth is impossible.
Constant profit is not.
Re: (Score:2)
How much credit are you getting when you report the SLA miss?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Amazon Lockers are always full... (Score:2)
Re:Amazon Lockers are always full... (Score:4, Funny)
I tried to order something from Amazon to deliver to a local Amazon Locker. No can do. It's full. As are the half-dozen Amazon Lockers in the surrounding area. No space, no delivery. Oh, well. I'll my business elsewhere.
Sorry, that was me. I ordered an Amazon Locker and accidentally had it delivered to an Amazon Locker.
Re: (Score:2)
Sorry, that was me. I ordered an Amazon Locker and accidentally had it delivered to an Amazon Locker.
That's funny. I have a friend wears an Amazon hoodie that he got from the Amazon brick-and-mortar store at the shopping mall. Whenever he walks around the mall in that hoodie, people think he works for Amazon and asks him questions. Now he is looking for a different hoodie to wear.
Re: (Score:2)
Your friend is what we lovingly refer to around here as "a shill"
An Amazon hoodie doesn't even make sense in an ironic joke...
Re: (Score:2)
An Amazon hoodie doesn't even make sense in an ironic joke...
My friend also works for the Sprint Store in the same mall. Whenever he walks around in his Sprint shirts, no one ever comes up and ask him questions. Go figure.
Re: (Score:2)
Sorry, that was me. I ordered an Amazon Locker and accidentally had it delivered to an Amazon Locker.
Yo, dawg, ...
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I think you deliberately a word.
FTFY
New Space (Score:2)
Amazon Starts Flexing Muscle in New Space
New Space: When Flexing Muscle in Old Space just isn't going to cut it anymore.
I mean... you gotta Flex Muscle somewhere...
Uh oh (Score:2)
If the drones don't work out (Score:1)
They'll just air-drop it from 35,000 ft..
Nearly Full But With Lightweight Loads (Score:3)
Hardly surprising when you consider the fact that Amazon will send out a pack of AAA batteries in a 36"x24"x6" box with 2 more boxes inside it.
UPS truck full of Amazon (Score:2)
I went to retrieve a package from a UPS truck that had pulled up in front of my house. It was remarkable to see that nearly every box in the truck had an Amazon logo.
Re: (Score:2)
I went to retrieve a package from a UPS truck that had pulled up in front of my house. It was remarkable to see that nearly every box in the truck had an Amazon logo.
...Which gives them an insane leverage over UPS when they are negotiating rates.
Re: (Score:1)
Or the other way around, since UPS knows that Fedex doesn't alone have the capacity to handle all of Amazon's freight.