It is moving from on-line retail sales to services the company offers….
Their num bars are still in the billions of dollars though….
Most of Amazon’s revenue still comes from sales on its website, but an outsize chunk of its profit is from other services, including cloud computing and advertising.
“That’s a big deal — they have basically pivoted their business and transformed themselves,” said Sucharita Kodali, an analyst at Forrester Research. “They are a conglomerate.”
Under the headline results, there was a complicated mix. Amazon’s core retail business is not growing as fast as it used to, though it has become more profitable. Higher-margin units are growing far faster. For example, cloud computing services provide more operating income than Amazon’s retail business.
While its cloud business mints cash, Amazon plans to spend $800 million in the second quarter to bolster its retail business. In a call with investment analysts, Brian Olsavsky, the chief financial officer, said Amazon was investing heavily to make Prime shipping faster.
“This is all about the core free two-day offer evolving into a free one-day offer,” he said.
Amazon shares closed the day barely up, at $1,902.25, and were up about 1 percent in aftermarket trading.
Retail growth is easing. This quarter last year, Amazon sold 22 percent more units than a year earlier, but in the most recent quarter the number fell to 10 percent.
“That means they are maturing or facing greater competition from somebody else, like Walmart,”…..