undefined | Better HN

0 pointswvenable7y ago0 comments

> Amazon uses profits from AWS to dump in other sectors, selling goods and services below market value.

There is big competition in cloud computing so AWS is priced according to market rates. I seriously doubt AWS profit is significant enough to influence the rest of Amazon in way that would be considered monopoly abuse. Amazon's purchase of Whole Foods did not result in WF reducing prices (as was expected) to uncut other grocers in that market.

> Google is dumping in adjacent areas of tech - giving away Android for free, for example.

That ship has sailed; Google effectively eliminated the market for mobile operating systems and Microsoft could basically no longer sell Windows Mobile. But the open-sourcing of Android has led to direct competition as well -- Amazon runs a completely Google-free version of Android on their products.

0 comments

mywittyname7y ago

AWS is 10% of sales but 58% of operating income. Margins on AWS are hovering around 30% and growth has been double-digit every quarter for several years now.

AWS profits were worth a few hundred billion over the past seven years. As Amazon only as $40 billion in cash on hand, it's hard to argue they haven't put that money to good use.

mrep7y ago

You are off by an order of magnitude. AWS had an operating income of $7.296 Billion USD in the 12 months ending in 2018 [0] and has been growing at about 45% YOY for many years. Extrapolating those numbers gives them about $21.765 billion USD of operating income in the past 7 years.

[0]: https://ir.aboutamazon.com/news-releases/news-release-detail...

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse