Dive Brief:
- In its first quarter 2014 earning report announced Apr. 24, Amazon reported revenues were up 23% to $19.7 billion, with a $108 million profit.
- The company's 23 cents per share earnings were on par with analysts' forecasts, which were down from 54 cents per share three months ago.
- Following this report, shares of Amazon's stock dropped 9%, to around $307 on Friday.
Dive Insight:
It's been a big (and busy) quarter for Amazon. Leading with a price increase for its Prime membership, the company then followed with the announcements of an HBO partnership and the launch of its Prime Pantry non-bulk food delivery service. With this much movement in so little time, Amazon's small profit is understandable, as CEO Jeff Bezos has a long history of reinvesting revenue back into the company to increase innovation.
But investors seem to be impatient, looking more at present profits than future initiatives. Pointing to a two percent drop of the company's unit sales growth, from 25% in the previous quarter to 23%, Alison Griswold at Slate says this diminishing figure "can suggest that investments Amazon is making aren't necessarily paying off."