亚马逊利润缩水
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最近一个财季，亚马逊（Amazon）销售额虽然一直在上涨，但利润却再次缩水。究其原因，很大程度上是源于公司的持续扩张。 第四季度，亚马逊的销售额比去年同期增加了22%，达到213亿美元；但利润却跌至9,700万美元，每股收益21美分。而去年同期，公司利润为1.77亿美元。这样的表现远远低于华尔街的预期。华尔街预测亚马逊每股收益为28美分，总收入为222.6亿美元。 分析师之所以密切关注亚马逊的收入，不仅因为节日季通常是公司增长最强劲的阶段，同时也是为了估算，公司扩张会给公司利润造成什么样的影响。去年，亚马逊加大投入，用于建设更多运营中心，同时推广Kindle电子书阅读器和平板电脑。公司首席财务官汤姆•斯库塔克在公司的业绩发布会上称，截至节日季，公司共新建20个运营中心，并且已经投入使用，与亚马逊上个季度的预测基本一致。（目前，亚马逊在全球共有89座仓库。） 虽然亚马逊对分解媒体业务不同部门销售额一直持谨慎态度，不过其CEO杰夫•贝佐斯表示，Kindle是一个健康的、持续增长的部门。贝佐斯在一份声明中称：“我们已经看到了之前预想的转变。经过5年发展，电子书业务为我们带来了数十亿美元收入，而且仍在迅速增长——去年增长了约70%。而与之相对比的是，我们在12月份的实体书销售额却经历了史上最低的同比涨幅，仅增长了5%。自从我们开始图书业务17年以来，还是第一次出现这种情况。我们很兴奋，也非常感谢消费者对Kindle的热爱，感谢他们支持我们正在不断扩展的生态系统和我们的选择。” 斯库塔克在业绩发布会上还着重介绍了Prime（年费79美元的忠诚用户回馈服务）和Prime即时视频服务（转为Prime用户提供的视频数据流服务）用户的增长情况。尤其是Prime即时视频服务用户与去年相比出现了大幅增长。不过，斯库塔克并没有公布具体数据。 盘后交易中，亚马逊公司股票上涨了11%，涨至每股288美元。（财富中文网） 译者：刘进龙/汪皓 |
Amazon sales may be up, but profits took another plunge during the company's most recent quarter, in large part due to the company's ongoing expansion. In the fourth quarter, Amazon (AMZN) sales rose 22%, compared with the same time in 2011, to $21.3 billion; profits dropped to $97 million, or 21 cents a share, down from $177 million the year prior. Those numbers fall short of Wall Street estimates of profits of 28 cents a share on revenues of $22.26 billion. Analysts were paying close attention to Amazon's earnings, not just because the holiday season is typically the company's strongest period, but to gauge how the company's expansion efforts are likely to continue to impact profits. Over the last year, the company has invested heavily in building more fulfillment centers and spending to get its Kindle readers and tablets in more consumers' hands. During the company's earnings call, CFO Tom Szkutak said that 20 new fulfillment centers were up and running by the holiday season—in line what the company had projected last quarter. (In total, Amazon now has 89 warehouses worldwide.) Although Amazon is typically reticent about breaking down sales for different segments of its media business, CEO Jeff Bezos suggested that the Kindle is a healthy, growing segment. "We're now seeing the transition we've been expecting," said Bezos said in a statement. "After 5 years, eBooks is a multi-billion dollar category for us and growing fast – up approximately 70% last year. In contrast, our physical book sales experienced the lowest December growth rate in our 17 years as a book seller, up just 5%. We're excited and very grateful to our customers for their response to Kindle and our ever-expanding ecosystem and selection." On an earnings call, Szkutak also played up the user growth of Prime, its $79 a year loyalty reward program, and Prime Instant Video, its video streaming initiative for Prime subscribers. In particular, Prime Instant Video usage has ramped up year-over-year. However, Szkutak did not disclose numbers. Amazon's stock climbed 11% in after-hours trading to $288 a share. |
