Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Amazon is "techno feudalistic shopping by algorithm"

Editor's note: This is not "capitalism". Those profits are coming from "cloud capital": Walking into Amazon is not like walking into a shopping mall. Amazon has defined algorithms and there is no socializing on this platform unlike what you would be able to do at a shopping mall. Call it "techno feudalistic shopping by algorithm." Enjoy your serfdom while doing your trained-to-buy algorithm-driven shopping on Amazon. The new owners of this "cloud capitalism" is a mutation of capitalism gone rogue with the rentier class taking 40 percent right off the top. When you step into Amazon for your shopping you step out of capitalism into a "digital fiefdom." If you think these digital platforms like Amazon (not social media), Facebook, Instagram and other social media companies have too much power you're right.
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Source: Japan Times

Amazon triples quarterly profit as cloud surges
An Amazon Web Services (AWS) logo is pictured during a trade fair in
Hanover, Germany, on April 22. REUTERS

By Glen Chapman | May 1, 2024

SAN FRANCISCO – E-commerce titan Amazon on Tuesday said profit in the first three months of 2024 tripled as its cloud, ads, and retail businesses thrived.

Amazon shares were up about 1% in after-market trades that followed the release of the earnings figures, with Wall Street keeping a close eye on the impact of AI as well as the costs involved.

"It was a good start to the year across the business," Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy said in an earnings release.

The Seattle-based company reported $10.4 billion in profit on revenue of $143.3 billion, compared with a profit of $3.2 billion on $127.4 billion in sales in the same period a year earlier.

"Amazon opens its new fiscal year with a robust set of numbers that show it has mostly brushed off pressures in the consumer economy," GlobalData managing director Neil Saunders said in a note to investors.

Sales at Amazon online stores grew by 7% in the quarter despite competitive pressure from rivals such as Shein and Temu, according to Saunders.

"Our customer data still shows that Amazon is a focal point for those consumers wanting value for money and convenience," Saunders said.

"We also believe that Prime members are leaning more heavily into Amazon to maximize value from their subscriptions."

Growth in online store sales indicated last year's turnaround at Amazon's e-commerce business is continuing, according to Emarketer senior analyst Blake Droesch.

"While the core e-commerce business is no longer the biggest growth driver, it remains an essential component of the Amazon flywheel, particularly in propelling its ad business," Droesch said.

Data center push

Jassy said the allure of AI capabilities was getting companies to bring infrastructures up to date relying on Amazon's AWS cloud computing division, which is on track to bring in a hundred billion dollars over the course of the year.

"We've seen considerable momentum on the AI front," Jassy said on an earnings call.

"Companies are pursuing this relatively low-hanging fruit of modernizing their infrastructure."

AWS revenue in the recently ended quarter was $25 billion compared with $21.4 billion in the same period last year, the earnings figures showed.

Jassy also pointed to Amazon's young ad business that was gaining momentum at its online shop and Prime streaming television service.

Ad sales brought in $11.8 billion, an increase of 24% from the same quarter a year earlier, Amazon reported.

The tech giant has also been driving down costs, he added, eliminating some 27,000 jobs last year.

Please go to Japan Times to continue reading.

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