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Amazon Starts Flexing Muscle in New Space (reuters.com)
A cargo plane emblazoned with "Prime Air" descended from an empty sky at Lehigh Valley International Airport on Tuesday, ninety minutes from the bustle of New York City, loaded with crates of goods during the peak holiday shopping season. From a report on Reuters: It's one of 40 jets leased by Amazon.com Inc for a new cargo service to meet delivery demand from the retail giant's customers. Exclusive payload data reviewed by Reuters and interviews with airport officials around the country show that Prime Air planes are flying nearly full, but with lightweight loads, taking away valued business from FedEx Corp and United Parcel Service Inc. Expanding into transportation, from trucks to planes, is one of Amazon's most important endeavors as it strives to lure new customers with fast shipping while keeping costs under control. The world's largest online retailer is sending more packages, more often, and later in the day to serve its estimated 35 million to more than 50 million U.S. members of Amazon Prime, a service that promises two-day shipping for $99 per year.
Sooner or later Amazon has to start paying dividends...
No, they don't. They just need to keep their share price afloat. Dividends are not a requirement of any company, and there are plenty out there that don't pay them. They are a nice perk, for sure, but not some sort of "you must do this or go out of business".
I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
I live in western Washington state. We've had the Amazon delivery people for quite some time now - and I don't share your rosy opinion of the company's priorities. I think they've saved money by hiring people who wouldn't make the cut for other businesses, on the cheap.
Amazon-delivered packages often end up in puddles or dropped over the front yard fence. We have a big sign saying "please deliver to back door", with an arrow pointing towards the (non-fenced) door maybe 15 feet away... and Amazon drivers have left packages, exposed to the elements, right below that sign. Either they just don't care, or they can't read English (my daughter has interacted with a couple Amazon drivers, and she suspects the latter).
I've never had an issue with FedEx or UPS drivers like that. The only people who seemed as bad as the Amazon crew were the USPS folks, back when they were doing Sunday deliveries for Amazon.
#DeleteChrome
I tried to order something from Amazon to deliver to a local Amazon Locker. No can do. It's full. As are the half-dozen Amazon Lockers in the surrounding area. No space, no delivery. Oh, well. I'll my business elsewhere.
Sorry, that was me. I ordered an Amazon Locker and accidentally had it delivered to an Amazon Locker.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
Sooner or later Amazon has to start paying dividends...
No, they don't. They just need to keep their share price afloat. Dividends are not a requirement of any company, and there are plenty out there that don't pay them. They are a nice perk, for sure, but not some sort of "you must do this or go out of business".
Coming soon: Amazon Shareholder Prime -- "now with dividends"
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
Hardly surprising when you consider the fact that Amazon will send out a pack of AAA batteries in a 36"x24"x6" box with 2 more boxes inside it.
Which means that buying Amazon stock is short sighted. Sooner or later, people are going to realize that owning Amazon stock returns no value to the owner of said stock and stop buying it. Right now, Amazon stock holders are taking part in a complex ponzi scheme. The only way you get your money back, let alone make a profit, is to find some other sucker to pay you as much for your stock as you paid for it.
There are times when investing in a company which does not pay dividends is a good move, but when it becomes clear that part of the company's business strategy is to NEVER pay dividends that is not one of them.
The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
Their financials have started to be less secretive. It's been clear for a couple of years now that the core businesses, retail and AWS, are quite profitable before reinvestment. Whether they'll grow into their stock price is anyone's guess, but it's not impossible.
The cargo planes are a different matter - it's not a new business, it's all about owning the distribution side. Amazon is getting too big for FedEx and UPS.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.