亚马逊：收入超预期，亏损在继续

    亚马逊（Amazon）长期以来一直着力大力投资扩张，甚至不惜以利润为代价。这家公司最新的季度报告表明，这一点并没有改变。

    这家电子商务巨头公布，它2013年第三季度每股亏损9美分，销售额为170.9亿美元。虽然亏损在预料之中，但收入跃升24%超出了华尔街167.7亿美元的预期。随后，这家公司的股价在盘后交易中跃升了7%。

    与最近几个季度一样，亚马逊首席财务官汤姆•斯库塔克将亏损归咎于公司的持续扩张。亚马逊运营中心网络的持续扩张（它的运营中心数量已达100家左右）继续导致短期业绩承受压力。其他影响因素还包括扩展Amazon Web Services基础设施，以及开发新的Kindle阅读器硬件。新的Kindle阅读器已于今秋推出。

    杰夫•贝佐斯在公司的业绩发布中重点介绍了亚马逊最新的一系列活动，包括推出新的Kindle阅读器、新增800多万平方英尺运营中心面积，以及为三家运营中心配置1,382台Kiva机器人以提高效率。亚马逊还宣布在佛罗里达和巴尔的摩新建各占地100万平方英尺的仓库，同时还招聘、培训了70,000名季节性工人，为节日销售季做好准备。亚马逊在节日销售季期间往往会迎来销售井喷。

    斯库塔克还解释了该公司最近一项有争议的决定，将免运费订单最低金额从25美元提高至35美元。“我们执行原标准已有十多年了，”斯库塔克说。“这些年来燃油价格和运输成本（都在上涨）。而我们直到现在才上调这个最低门槛。”（财富中文网）    

    Amazon (AMZN) has long focused on heavy investments into expansion, even at the expense of its bottom line, and the company's latest quarter proved no different.

    For the e-commerce giant's third quarter 2013, it reported a loss of 9 cents per share on sales of $17.09 billion. While the loss was expected, the 24% jump in revenues actually surpassed the Street's $16.77 billion estimate. Company stock surged 7% in after-hours trading.

    As in previous recent quarters, CFO Tom Szkutak attributed the loss to the company's ongoing expansion. Amazon's increasing network of roughly 100 fulfillment centers continues to take its toll in the short-term, but factors also include growing out the company's Amazon Web Services infrastructure and the development of new Kindle hardware, which began rolling out this fall.

    In the company's earnings release, Jeff Bezos highlighted Amazon's recent flurry of activity, including new Kindles, the addition of 8 million more square feet of fulfillment center capacity, and the deployment of 1,382 Kiva robots in three fulfillment centers to increase efficiency. Amazon also announced new warehouses, each with 1 million square feet, in Florida and Baltimore, as well as the hiring and training of 70,000 new seasonal workers in preparation for the holiday season, when the company traditionally experiences huge sales.

    Szkutak also addressed the company's recent controversial decision to increase its free shipping minimum order threshold from $25 to $35. "We've had that for over a decade," Szkutak remarked. "Over that period, both fuel prices and transportation. We certainly didn't change that threshold until now."