Jeff Bezos to lose status as world’s richest man as Amazon stock tumbles

[Steve Williams]

Difficult to feel sorry for him as his net worth might plummet by $10B. I'm sure his recent divorce hasn't helped either

Edmund Heaphy,Yahoo Finance UK

Amazon (AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos will lose his status as the world’s richest man if the company’s weaker-than-expected profits dent its valuation.

Shares in the e-commerce giant plunged as much as 9% in after-hours trading on Thursday after the company blamed the costs of its expanded one-day delivery service for its first year-over-year profit decline in two years.

If the sell-off holds, more than $80bn would be knocked off the company’s value on Friday. Bezos owns around 12% of Amazon’s total shares, meaning that his net worth could fall by as much as $10bn.

That would push him below Bill Gates, whose net worth of $107bn currently makes him the world’s second-richest man, according to Bloomberg.

Bezos overtook Gates on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index in October 2017, in part because Gates has donated tens of billions to philanthropic causes.


Gates still holds a 1% stake in Microsoft. Shares in the software company have surged so far this year due to the continued success of its cloud platform Azure and social media platform LinkedIn, each of which have seen strong revenue growth.

Bezos on Thursday defended the company’s decision to invest in Amazon’s one-day delivery service, which enables subscribers to its premium Prime service to get more than 10 million items delivered within 24 hours.

Amazon has long prioritised growth over profits. “It’s a big investment, and it’s the right long-term decision for customers,” Bezos said.

“Customers love the transition of Prime from two days to one day—they’ve already ordered billions of items with free one-day delivery this year.”



While noting that the investments were necessary, analysts suggested that they would continue to weigh on the company’s profitability. Amazon had previously charged extra for the speedy delivery.

Revenue in the company’s third-quarter fell to $3.2bn, compared to $3.7bn in the same period last year. The company’s estimates for the final quarter of the year also came in below expectations.

Analysts had forecast that sales during the holiday period would come in at more than $87bn, but Amazon said they would fall within the $80bn to $86.5bn range on Thursday, spooking investors about its capacity to maintain bumper growth.

 

[spiritofmusic]

When is Amazon going to pay anything near it's fair share of tax? To at least partially offset the carnage it's brought upon local communities/it's natural competition.

And noone needs delivery of any consumer article in less than 24 hrs, its a preposterous conceit that has destroyed the marketplace.

 

[BlueFox]

I doubt he is losing any sleep over this.

 

[Steve Williams]

When is Amazon going to pay anything near it's fair share of tax? To at least partially offset the carnage it's brought upon local communities/it's natural competition.

And noone needs delivery of any consumer article in less than 24 hrs, its a preposterous conceit that has destroyed the marketplace.

It’s commonplace for many stores here to deliver same day. Next day works for me though. I love Amazon Prime.

 

[Hi-FiGuy]

When is Amazon going to pay anything near it's fair share of tax? To at least partially offset the carnage it's brought upon local communities/it's natural competition.

And noone needs delivery of any consumer article in less than 24 hrs, its a preposterous conceit that has destroyed the marketplace.

Another hater...blaming whats going on in Seattle on Amazon. If you want to what the real problem is in Seattle look no further than the city council.

Lived in a semi-rural town 50 miles outside Seattle and worked downtown for three years and had to leave. Its dirty, disgusting and not a safe place. Blaming Seattle's problems on Amazon is standard for those that believe the media hype. Is it part of it yes but its microscopic.

The city council is one of the most corrupt group of people I have ever seen and their ability to get people to believe their words is mind boggling. When a city council member gets on TV and tells the public to go onto the freeway and shut it down in protest of whatever the flavor of the day is, you are no longer looking over the public's best interest.

Having worked in dowtown Freeattle every day for three years and witnessed the daily goings on, Bezos is so far removed from the actual problem, he is just the poster child.

I could go on and on but I wont. Anyone that has not lived and worked in downtown Seattle every day for years has no real understanding of what is going on there. The amount of drugs and crime I have personally witnessed in the three years I was there has been mind blowing to say the least and law enforcement has been told to stand down.

Example, my wife had just bought a shopping cart full of groceries and had stopped at a soda fountain on the way out. She filled her cup, turned around, maybe 30 seconds and the cart was gone. Long story short she went to security and the video showed a store employee stealing the cart and giving it to the drug addicts living in the bushes behind the store. BUT WAIT IT GETS BETTER! The store management told my wife tough shit go buy more groceries, next please.

When Paul Allen died one council member went on TV and stated he could have done more for Seattle and did not give enough...seriously!

I am obviously venting here, but when all you have is media perception and no firm grasp on the reality of the situation there, not much room for meaningful conversation. Unfortunately it is all political.

On the other hand Seattle has the most amazing record stores I have ever seen.

 

[Steve Williams]

As I said I love Amazon Prime with next day delivery. Shopping has never been more convenient. The days of steel and stone structures are becoming albatrosses and things of the past as they only take away from the bottom line. I would love to know how many of those Mercedes vans were purchased by Amazon and at what price.

Last week my wife ordered cookie cutters from Amazon to make some theme cookies for a grand total of $5.25 and they were delivered same day. There is nothing IMO that beats that service

 

[Steve Williams]

Here's the answer....they are privately owned

Amazon just revealed an update to its plan to promise massive profits to anyone who wants to start a delivery company

Dennis Green Sep 5, 2018

Amazon announced on Wednesday that it would acquire 20,000 new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans for use in its new delivery program.
The program, announced earlier this year, is designed to lessen the company's reliance on delivery mainstays like FedEx, UPS, and the US Postal Service.
The 20,000 new vans are a major investment in the new program, but that number is still dwarfed by the vehicles in delivery fleets of competitors.
Amazon is going all in on its new delivery program.


The retailer announced on Wednesday that it would acquire 20,000 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans to use in its new homegrown delivery initiative, in which it says it will pay entrepreneurs to start small businesses to deliver its packages.

Amazon announced the program in June, promising $300,000 in annual profits for entrepreneurs willing to start companies and hire up to 100 drivers for a fleet of up to 40 delivery vehicles. The new vans will not be owned and managed by Amazon but by a fleet-vehicle company that will in turn lease to the new delivery companies.

The vans will, however, be emblazoned with Amazon's branding and blue Prime logo.

The new purchase is part of the retailer's plan to rely less on package-delivery incumbents like UPS, FedEx, and the US Postal Service by helping to fund small businesses. The number of vans in the order is still much lower than the number of vehicles in fleets operated by UPS, which says it has about 119,000 vehicles worldwide, and FedEx, which says it has more than 100,000 FedEx Express vehicles and more than 60,000 FedEx Ground vehicles.


An Amazon representative told The Wall Street Journal the company had received "tens of thousands" of applications for the new program, though is likely to select about 500 to start.

Dave Clark, Amazon's senior vice president of worldwide operations, said in a joint statement with Mercedes-Benz that the 20,000-vehicle order represented an increase over its original order due to the "the tremendous response."

Amazon already works with hundreds of third-party logistics companies to help deliver its packages quickly as part of its Prime delivery promise. The new vans are a major step in the direction of Amazon's creating its own delivery network and becoming less reliant on other delivery companies.

Amazon's ballooning shipping costs are a good reason for it to try to exert more control over one of the most important parts of its business. Those costs nearly doubled in two years, to $21.7 billion last year from $11.5 billion in 2015, the company said in a 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year.

 

[spiritofmusic]

I wasn't commenting on Seattle, hey, I've never been to the US. It seems a nice place from what I see on Frasier lol.

So, you're saying inner cities are crime ridden dumps, and we're best staying in the comfort and security of our homes, and ordering the world from Amazon? I guess that's hard to argue against.

Maybe I'm pining for a bygone age when you did go into town to buy stuff in reasonable security. I'm not blaming Amazon for the shelling out of our cities (globalization, rocketing property prices and commercial rents, and the bending over backwards of authorities in permitting social decay, is more to blame).

But I can't do anything other than extrapolate Amazon's role in being part of the death of the high street. And their paltry contribution of almost zero taxes can't help.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Steve, when robots take over the whole of medicine, from diagnosis/consultation to surgery/aftercare, cutting out the middle men doctors, nurses and surgeons, you won't pine for the good old analog days?

 

[spiritofmusic]

How

Here's the answer....they are privately owned

Amazon just revealed an update to its plan to promise massive profits to anyone who wants to start a delivery company

Dennis Green Sep 5, 2018

Amazon announced on Wednesday that it would acquire 20,000 new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans for use in its new delivery program.
The program, announced earlier this year, is designed to lessen the company's reliance on delivery mainstays like FedEx, UPS, and the US Postal Service.
The 20,000 new vans are a major investment in the new program, but that number is still dwarfed by the vehicles in delivery fleets of competitors.
Amazon is going all in on its new delivery program.


The retailer announced on Wednesday that it would acquire 20,000 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans to use in its new homegrown delivery initiative, in which it says it will pay entrepreneurs to start small businesses to deliver its packages.

Amazon announced the program in June, promising $300,000 in annual profits for entrepreneurs willing to start companies and hire up to 100 drivers for a fleet of up to 40 delivery vehicles. The new vans will not be owned and managed by Amazon but by a fleet-vehicle company that will in turn lease to the new delivery companies.

The vans will, however, be emblazoned with Amazon's branding and blue Prime logo.

The new purchase is part of the retailer's plan to rely less on package-delivery incumbents like UPS, FedEx, and the US Postal Service by helping to fund small businesses. The number of vans in the order is still much lower than the number of vehicles in fleets operated by UPS, which says it has about 119,000 vehicles worldwide, and FedEx, which says it has more than 100,000 FedEx Express vehicles and more than 60,000 FedEx Ground vehicles.


An Amazon representative told The Wall Street Journal the company had received "tens of thousands" of applications for the new program, though is likely to select about 500 to start.

Dave Clark, Amazon's senior vice president of worldwide operations, said in a joint statement with Mercedes-Benz that the 20,000-vehicle order represented an increase over its original order due to the "the tremendous response."

Amazon already works with hundreds of third-party logistics companies to help deliver its packages quickly as part of its Prime delivery promise. The new vans are a major step in the direction of Amazon's creating its own delivery network and becoming less reliant on other delivery companies.

Amazon's ballooning shipping costs are a good reason for it to try to exert more control over one of the most important parts of its business. Those costs nearly doubled in two years, to $21.7 billion last year from $11.5 billion in 2015, the company said in a 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year.

How will all these vans on the road fit the relentless push to zero carbon promoted by the Democrats, esp Warren and AOC under the watchful eye of St. Greta of Thunberg?

 

[Steve Williams]

How
How will all these vans on the road fit the relentless push to zero carbon promoted by the Democrats, esp Warren and AOC under the watchful eye of St. Greta of Thunberg?

The things that worry you Marc.........

 

[Hi-FiGuy]

I could go on for a long time about Seattle and Southern California as I am a long time resident of So Cal.
PM me if you like as anything else I say will shut this thread down.

Watch the video

 

[spiritofmusic]

The things that worry you Marc.........

Steve, we SHOULD be worried Lol.

Me? I'm just a simple observer of world events. And the total hypocrisy of the Greta acolytes who will happily make hay w sub 24hrs delivery in these new vans.

And I refuse to apologise for being sad about the demise of the old retail model. Are you really telling me you'll be happy for all high end bricks and mortar stores to die as Bezos promises to deliver your Wamm Chronosonics the same day after you order them from a tiny photo on your smartphone?

If you are, don't tell Alex Lol.

 

[KeithR]

world's smallest violin playing...

 

[KeithR]

As I said I love Amazon Prime with next day delivery. Shopping has never been more convenient. The days of steel and stone structures are becoming albatrosses and things of the past as they only take away from the bottom line. I would love to know how many of those Mercedes vans were purchased by Amazon and at what price.

Last week my wife ordered cookie cutters from Amazon to make some theme cookies for a grand total of $5.25 and they were delivered same day. There is nothing IMO that beats that service

Amazon is being torched by Walmart and Target on same day pickup. It's really awesome- they have dedicated parking spaces in front and lines for pick up. With 100,000 stores as distribution centers in many more towns/cities while Amazon has like 1,000 warehouses.

Take a look at Target stock if you don't believe me. I dumped Prime a year ago.

 

[spiritofmusic]

world's smallest violin playing...

Wow, your Devores must be REALLY resolving.

 

[spiritofmusic]

world's smallest violin playing...

You gonna be happy buying all your gear off an Amazon website online? Or, are you gonna make an exception for what we're passionate about on this forum?

Because if Bezos has his way, all shops, general or specialist, will die.

Indeed he wont be happy until we get to the point where you order a Latté on yr mobile and a drone delivers it to you while you don't break stride. At the same time as "closing down" signs go up on the coffee bars you walk past.

 

[Steve Williams]

Marc

take deep breath. Truly .....

BTW I totally agree about Target and Walmart pickup.
yes Marc, the world is changing and yes I love Amazon Prime. Bezos IMHO is a visionary.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Steve, no deep breath needed. I'm not mad/angry. But I can maintain my opinion that I'm skeptical of what Amazon is doing. I do most of my online shopping in this hobby, and elsewhere, on non Amazon sites, and I am nostalgic over the extinction of the high street.

That's just me. I haven't even succumbed to streaming, music or tv/movies, yet. My opinion hardly matters in the grand scheme.

 

[cjfrbw]

Bezos' wife gave him the voting rights over the stock assets she got in the divorce. He still controls a lot of stock wealth that is no longer in his name.