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Tag: Amazon

  • Amazon Is Going After Google’s AdSense

    Amazon is looking to move further in on Google’s turf with an expanded ad network, which would aim to rival AdSense. This is something that consistently disappointed investors would relish.

    Amazon invests a lot of money on future growth, and as a result has difficulties with posting profits. A solid ad network business could be just the thing to turn that around.

    The Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter, that Amazon plans to replace Google ads with its own, generated from its own platform, which would challenge both Google’s and Microsoft’s businesses in “the future”. According to the report, the company has told potential ad partners it may begin testing the platform called “Amazon Sponsored Links” later this year, and that it would make it easier for advertisers to reach Amazon’s active users. The Journal reports:

    To displace the Google ads on its site, Amazon is building a tool to help advertising agencies buy in bulk for potentially thousands of advertisers, the people familiar with the matter said. Building such a system could enable Amazon to boost its business placing ads on third-party websites. Google offers similar capability for advertisers using AdWords.

    According to the report, Amazon’s offering would also go head to head with Google’s ads that appear on over two million other sites.

    Separately, Amazon has launched a display ad network with CPM ads for members of its Amazon Associates program.

    Image via Amazon

  • Here’s Amazon’s Next Batch of Kids Pilots

    Amazon Studios has just announced a new round of original kids pilots, set to debut early next year. Like with previous pilot batches from Amazon, viewer feedback will help determine which series get picked up for full season runs.

    The new batch of kids pilots features three animated shows and two live-action shows.

    Here’s what you can look forward to:

    Buddy: Tech Detective, designed for preschoolers, “is an exciting preschool whodunit that follows super-sleuth Buddy, his incredibly organized best friend Trudy, the funny furry ferret Ferdo and you, the smarty-pants viewer! Using a myriad of interactive technologies, Buddy and his team gather evidence, follow cues and crack the case.”

    The Stinky & Dirty Show “follows the adventures and mishaps faced by best friends and unlikely heroes, Stinky the garbage truck and Dirty the backhoe loader.”

    Niko and the Sword of Light, made for kids aged 6 to 11, “follows ten-year-old Niko who is the last of his kind in a strange, fantastical world. He must embark on an epic quest to defeat the darkness and bring the light back to his land.”

    Moving on the the live-action pilots, Table 58 follows “new kid Logan” as he “rallies the group of six mismatched middle schoolers to form a tenuous partnership in order to help each other get back to their rightful place in the cafeteria.”

    Just Add Magic “centers on Kelly Quinn and her two BFF’s, Darbie and Hannah, who stumble upon her grandmother’s mysterious cookbook in the attic and discover it has some interesting recipes.”

    Amazon also announced that new episodes of Tumble Leaf, Creative Galaxy, and Annedroids will premiere on September 5, October 3, and October 30, respectively.

    Image via Amazon Studios, Facebook

  • Bezos’ Washington Post Puts Amazon Affiliate Links In Articles

    Over the weekend, some observers noticed that the Washington Post, which was purchased by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos last year, was featuring Amazon “Buy it Now” buttons/affiliate links in certain articles.

    Paul Carr at PandoDaily points to an article called “What Divisive ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ cover says about books and readers.”

    The article is about the cover art for a 50th anniversary edition of the book. Six paragraphs in there’s a paragraph that says:

    The cover is certainly a departure from other incarnations of the Roald Dahl classic, most of which (including the current U.S. printing) have featured the famed whimsical illustrations by Quentin Blake. But the “Modern Classics” imprint under which the new edition will be released is not a children’s book line.

    According to Carr’s article and a few other accounts, the words “Roald Dahl classic” contained an Amazon affiliate link, and a “Buy it Now” button appeared next to it. The link and button appear to have since been removed.

    According to Carr, they’re doing it with all their book reviews though, and there is still a visible example here (at least still visible as of the time of this writing). It’s the same kind of thing – an affiliate links and a “Buy it Now” button. They’re doing it on various news items and letters to the editor, Carr says.

    People have had mixed reactions to learning that the newspaper site has been turned into an affiliate of Bezos’ Amazon. Some find it “creepy” or otherwise shady. Others just see it as a legitimate way for a newspaper to make some extra money. As some have pointed out, other newspapers have implemented similar strategies.

    Still, this was bound to draw some level of scrutiny being that Bezos owns both parties involved.

    After announcing his purchase of the newspaper last year, Bezos wrote in a letter, “So, let me start with something critical. The values of The Post do not need changing. The paper’s duty will remain to its readers and not to the private interests of its owners. We will continue to follow the truth wherever it leads, and we’ll work hard not to make mistakes. When we do, we will own up to them quickly and completely.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Amazon To Open New California Fulfillment Center, Create 2,500 Full-Time Jobs

    Amazon To Open New California Fulfillment Center, Create 2,500 Full-Time Jobs

    Amazon announced plans to open its fifth fulfillment center in California, which will appear in Redlands. The company opened its first center in the state less than two years ago. The California locations are in San Bernardino, Moreno Valley, Patterson and Tracy.

    At the new location, employees will pick, pack, and ship large items like big-screen TVs and kayaks, the company says, naming just a couple of examples.

    “We are proud to be hiring for more than 2,500 full-time jobs in California that offer wages 30 percent higher than traditional retail stores and include comprehensive benefits on day one, bonuses and stock awards,” said Mike Roth, Amazon’s vice president of North America operations. “We have found great talent in the state and we’re excited to be growing quickly to serve our customers.”

    “My Council colleagues and I are very excited that Amazon has chosen the City of Redlands to locate their new fulfillment center. And we are looking forward to the hundreds of new local jobs it will create,” said Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar. “Amazon is among the innovative and successful companies that have recognized our City’s attractive, business-friendly atmosphere, ideal location and skilled and diverse labor force. We are looking forward to Amazon taking its place as a valued member of our business community.”

    Amazon has fulfillment centers in California, Arizona, Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.

    Image via Amazon

  • Amazon Launches Local Register, A Card Reader & App For Local Businesses

    Last month, we heard that Amazon was readying its own card reader, which would compete with Square. Now, the company has officially unveiled it, and it’s called Amazon Local Register.

    Like Square, It enables local businesses to accept credit and debit cards from a smartphone or tablet. Luckily, Amazon has elected not to make it exclusive to its own smartphone and tablets. In fact, it’s not even available for the Fire phone yet (though it will be soon).

    It comes with a mobile app and Amazon customer support – the same services, in fact, which power Amazon.com purchases. Kindle Fire HDX can use the Mayday button for it.

    The app comes with reporting tools so businesses can look at bottom line performance, sales trends, peak sales times, etc.

    “From clothing stores to contractors, food trucks to accountants, businesses and organizations using Amazon Local Register will enjoy industry-leading low rates, trusted and secure payment processing, and access to award-winning customer support,” said Matt Swann, Vice President of Amazon Local Commerce. “We understand that every penny and every minute counts, so we want to make accepting payments so easy and inexpensive that it no longer gets in the way of a business owner doing what they love – serving their customers and growing their business.”

    The app is available in the Amazon Appstore, Apple App Store, and Google Play. Customers who sign up before October 31st get a rate of 1.75% on swiped transactions until 2016. The rate for those who sign up after October 31st will be 2.5%. Money from transactions can be deposited directly into a bank account within a single business day or spent on Amazon.com “within minutes”.

    The card reader costs $10 and comes with free 2-day shipping from the company. It will hit Staples on August 19th. The app is free. There are no long-term contracts, and customers’ first $10 in transaction fees will be credited back to their account once Amazon Local Register is in use, so that will will obviously make up for the cost of the reader itself.

    Amazon also offers accessories like cases, stands, receipt printers, and cash drawers. These can all be found from the Local Register site.

    The branding of this product – Amazon Local Register – is noteworthy, as the company is also testing an Amazon Local Services offering, which lets people find local businesses using Amazon. Amazon Local itself, of course, offers deals.

    It’s a good thing Square has had some time to gain some brand cred and get in the hands of many small businesses, because Amazon will likely leave a significant mark in the space.

    Image via Amazon

  • Amazon’s Five New Pilots Land Aug 28

    Amazon’s Five New Pilots Land Aug 28

    Amazon’s next batch of original shows, five new comedy and drama pilots dubbed the ‘third pilot season’, will debut on August 28th.

    This batch of potential series is arguably the most promising yet, pulling in some heavy hitters both in front and behind the camera.

    The five new shows dropping in a few weeks include The Cosmopolitans, Really, Red Oaks, Hand of God, and Hysteria.

    The Cosmopolitans is a comedy starring Adam Brody and Chloë Sevigny as part of “a group of young American expatriates in contemporary Paris searching for love and friendship.”

    Really comes to us from Broken Lizard’s (Super Troopers, Beerfest) Jay Chandrasekhar and stars alongside Scrubs‘ Sarah Chalke and Hellboy‘s Selma Blair, along with Chandrasekhar himself. Really is a half-hour dramedy about “four hard-charging suburban Chicago couples trying to grasp on to their dwindling youth.”

    Red Oaks, the last pilot Amazon announced back in July, is being produced by famed director Steven Soderbergh. It stars Craig Roberts (Submarine), Paul Reiser, Richard Kind, and Jennifer Grey, and is being directed by David Gordon Green of Eastbound & Down acclaim. “A coming-of-age comedy set in the “go-go” 80s that is equal parts hijinks and heartfelt, Red Oaks is about enjoying a last hurrah before summer comes to an end—and the future begins,” says Amazon Studios. It revolves around an assistant tennis pro at a country club, and its “colorful” cast of characters.

    Moving on to the two hour-long dramas, Hand of God is the television debut of director Marc Forster (Monster’s Ball, World War Z). It stars Sons of Anarchy‘s Ron Perlman as Judge Pernell Harris, “a hard-living, law-bending married man with a high-end call girl on the side, who suffers a mental breakdown and goes on a vigilante quest to find the rapist who tore his family apart.”

    Finally, Hysteria tracks a “strange, psycho-physiological illness that manifests itself in violent fits and spasms and then begins spreading in the community through technology.”

    “We are delighted to be able to bring Amazon customers new shows from some of Hollywood’s most talented actors and creators,” said Roy Price, Director of Amazon Studios. “There is something for everyone in this season and I can’t wait to hear our customers’ feedback when they premiere later this month.”

    As is the case with all of Amazon Studios’ original pilots, viewer feedback will play at least some part in whether or not each show is picked up for a full series run.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Amazon Same-Day Delivery Hits Six More Cities

    Amazon Same-Day Delivery Hits Six More Cities

    Amazon just announced that it’s expanding same-day delivery into six more cities: Baltimore, Dallas, Indianapolis, New York City, Philadelphia,and Washington D.C. These cities have been on Amazon’s list here for months, but are just officially getting the offering apparently.

    The “Get it Today” capability is available for over a million different items.

    The feature enables customers to order something as late as noon, any day of the week, and get things delivered that very day. Prime members can get this for $5.99 for all eligible items. Non-prime members can take advantage for $9.98 for the first item and $0.99 for each additional item.

    Conveniently, there’s a “Get it Today” search filter, so you can search specifically for things that you can actually get that day. It can be found under the Amazon Prime filter.

    Eligible items include those in the following categories: household needs, health and beauty, baby items, toys, movies and games (including new releases), electronics, office supplies, sporting goods, apparel, and home accessories.

    “Imagine how much time you will save now that you can get sunscreen, memory cards, toothpaste, hit movies, text books and HDMI cables all delivered to your home in hours, seven days a week, in one order from Amazon,” said Greg Greeley, Vice President of Amazon Prime. “New convenient pricing also allows Prime members to fill up their same-day shopping cart with everything they may need for one low price. With more than a million eligible items, we aim to offer the largest same-day selection at the lowest price.”

    Same-day delivery is already available in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Seattle. Amazon’s list (linked above) also includes Boston and Chicago.

    Image via Stephen Woods, Flickr Creative Commons

  • Amazon Launches Seller App On Android

    Amazon Launches Seller App On Android

    Back in March, Amazon launched the Amazon Seller for iOS, enabling sellers to tap into various tools from their iPhones or iPads in a dedicated app. Now, the app has launched for Android.

    “Use the Amazon Seller app for Android to help grow and manage your selling business on Amazon,” the company says. “The app’s mobile features make it easier than ever for you to quickly identify new selling opportunities on Amazon.com, list your items for sale, and respond to customer questions.”

    You can use the app to manage inventory, search for new items to sell, estimate the profitability of your items, list items, and respond to customer messages. It also lets you contact seller support. A picture is worth a thousand words, so here’s a look:

    You can download the app in Google Play.

    Via 9to5Google

    Images via Google Play

  • Can Amazon Dominate Local Services Too?

    Can Amazon Dominate Local Services Too?

    There’s no question that Amazon dominates the online shopping landscape. By getting small businesses and local contractors on board, could it also dominate local services? It’s going to try.

    Do you see Amazon becoming the go-to place for local services such as installations and repairs? Share your thoughts in the comments.

    In June, we learned that Amazon was readying a local services marketplace, which would simultaneously compete with local review sites like Yelp and services from stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot. The news was originally reported by Reuters, which suggested Amazon users would be able to order babysitters and handymen with the service.

    Reuters now has a clearer picture of just what Amazon is working on, which it says it is testing in Seattle, New York, and Los Angeles. It also points to a Help & Customer service page on Amazon’s website, which gives further details.

    According to that page, Amazon Local Services allows users to purchase professional services for assembly, set-up, installation, and repair works. It doesn’t say anything about babysitting, but that would certainly appear to cover the handyman part. Other verticals could surely come later, if the initiative proves successful.

    This particular niche serves to let Amazon offer such services to customers who are already purchasing items that would require them. If you buy something on Amazon, it can suggest a local business to install it for you, for example. According to Reuters, the company has been working with such businesses for about two years.

    According to Amazon, all service providers are covered by its “A-to-z Guarantee,” are licensed and insured, and are background-checked. The company explains on that help page:

    Add a service to your cart and check out. Within one business day, the service professional will contact you to set an appointment. If the service is at your home, the service provider will contact you 24 hours prior to the appointment to confirm and 30 minutes before arrival. All services provided in-home require someone 18 years or older to be present during the entire appointment.

    There is no fee to cancel or reschedule an appointment but you will need to contact the service provider directly to do so. We encourage you to give the service provider at least 24 hours’ notice if you need to reschedule or cancel.

    All services must take place within 90 days of checkout. Any service not received after 90 days will be automatically canceled.

    After the work is complete, you will sign a Proof of Service document acknowledging the service has been completed and your payment will then be processed.

    Installation and repair services are currently available in three cities: Seattle, New York, and Los Angeles. More locations and services launching soon.

    As Reuters reports, Amazon will begin offering such services in more locations soon, and will take 20% of jobs under $1,000 and 15% of jobs over $1,000.

    Amazon Local Services doesn’t appear to be tied directly to Amazon Local, which focuses on deals, but it’s easy to imagine that it could be as the service gets going.

    This would be only one of several initiatives, which would see Amazon greatly expanding the way people receive goods and services. In April, the company unveiled Prime Pantry, a new grocery service that lets Prime members in available markets order from about 2,000 grocery products.That’s in addition to the Amazon Fresh same-day grocery delivery service the company operates.

    Amazon is also working on its own delivery network, which would make less reliant on services like UPS and FedEx. Then there’s that whole drone thing.

    Meanwhile, Amazon continues to build out its ecosystem to give consumers more windows into its universe, such as its recently launched music streaming and Kindle Unlimited offerings. The new Fire phone gives users an actual button that lets them point their phones at items, and quickly be able to buy them electronically. While the first incarnation of the device hasn’t been received all that well, it’s clear that the ecommerce giant is only starting to enter a whole new frontier of giving consumers new ways of buying and receiving products and services, while immersing them in a growing Amazon world.

    Amazon recently launched a new Wallet App, giving users the ability to store credit and debit cards as well as gift cards and loyalty cards. It’s also rumored to be readying a card reader for businesses to compete with Square.

    The company continues to offer new products to both consumers and businesses (which is part of the reason for its disappointing earnings report and shareholder anxiety), all aimed at getting people to buy more in more ways all through Amazon, which in the long run means more money in Amazon’s (and its shareholders’) pockets. That is if things go right.

    Can Amazon dominate offline commerce as well online? Let us know what you think.

    Image via Thinkstock

  • Amazon Offers $1 Video Credit If You Let Them Take Their Sweet Ass Time Shipping

    Amazon Offers $1 Video Credit If You Let Them Take Their Sweet Ass Time Shipping

    Amazon Prime members: As long as you’re in no rush to get your new yoga mat, Amazon will give Prime members a $1 Amazon Instant Video credit if you let them take their time in shipping it.

    They’re calling it “No-Rush” shipping, and it’s the latest move from a company who is really struggling with rising shipping costs.

    This is apparently a limited time offer. The credits appear to last for three months, as credits applied today expire on October 31st. Though it doesn’t sound like much, all you have to do is be extra patient a few times and you’ll have enough credits to rent a movie (that’s not available for free via Prime Instant Video, of course).

    The free “No-Rush” shipping option now appears next to the free standard shipping, free two-day shipping, and $X one-day shipping options at checkout.

    Most Amazon Prime members are Amazon Prime members because of the free two-day shipping. Above all else, that’s major draw of the subscription. But Amazon hopes that every now and then, you won’t really need whatever you’re ordering that quickly.

    It’s obvious that Amazon is doing everything they can to reduce shipping costs. Remember when they hiked the price of a Prime subscription $20 earlier this year? Amazon cited rising costs for fuel and transportation when explaining the new price.

    Couple that with the recent release of a disappointing earnings report and you can see why Amazon would do anything, however small, to increase their margins.

  • Amazon Launches 3D Printed Products Store

    Amazon Launches 3D Printed Products Store

    Amazon just announced the launch of its new 3D Printed Products store, offering a marketplace containing over 200 print on-demand products that can be customized to consumers’ needs – including by material, size, styles, colors, text, and image imprints.

    According to the company’s it’s one of the largest such stores available online. It certainly has the biggest name in online shopping on it.

    In addition to search tools, the store has interactive 3D previews, and a product personalization widget. Available products include jewelry, toys, home décor and fashion accessories.

    “The introduction of our 3D Printed Products store suggests the beginnings of a shift in online retail – that manufacturing can be more nimble to provide an immersive customer experience,” said Petra Schindler-Carter, Director for Amazon Marketplace Sales. “Sellers, in alignment with designers and manufacturers, can offer more dynamic inventory for customers to personalize and truly make their own. The 3D Printed Products store allows us to help sellers, designers and manufacturers reach millions of customers while providing a fun and creative customer experience to personalize a potentially infinite number of products at great prices across many product categories.”

    In addition to the widget, the store features design templates, which shoppers can start with, and then personalize.

    Some items are available for less than $40. These include personalized cufflinks, bobble head figurines and wine glass holders. For around $100, items like pendants, earrings and necklaces are available.

    If you’re interested in selling items through the store, there’s an application here.

    Image via Amazon

  • Amazon May Be Readying Its Own Card Reader

    Is Amazon preparing to unveil a Square competitor?

    According to reportedly leaked documents from office supplies retailer Staples, Amazon is about to put a card reader on the market. The documents reference an “Amazon Card Reader” alongside other established players like PayPal, Square, and Staples’ own mobile payments reader.

    According to 9to5Mac, the product is being listed at $9.99.

    Though unconfirmed by Amazon, it’s clear that Staples thinks they’re about to put a new brand of card reader on its shelves.

    A launch of a new card reader would come on the heels of Amazon’s new Wallet app, which it launched on Android and its new Fire phone just last week.

    The internal documents suggest that Staples is advising its stores to wait until August 12th to advertise the new product. Could be see an announcement from Amazon between now and then? It could take the attention away from Amazon’s new Fire Phone, which hasn’t exactly received the best welcome.

    Image via Amazon, Google Play Store

  • Amazon Fire Phone Fails To Impress Reviewers

    Amazon’s Fire Phone is now officially available to consumers in the United States through AT&T. It’s time to see how much interest people really have in an Amazon phone.

    The device has been rumored for years, and the day has finally come when people can hold it in their hands, and experience the company’s vision for what a phone should be (which obviously includes a lot of shopping and consuming content on Amazon).

    Unfortunately for the company, the early reviews haven’t been incredibly positive.

    CNET says its 3D visuals are cool, the OS design is “fresh,” and the Amazon services integrations are deep and convenient, but overall doesn’t think it competes very well with competing Android and iPhone models with a “less extensive” app store and service experience, more sluggish performance, disappointing battery life, and a lack of Google services.

    Engadget concludes that it’s a “unique device,” but that you’re “better off waiting for the sequel.”

    Gizmodo calls the device “a shaky first step”

    ExtremeTech calls it “a gimmicky mess, unless you’re looking for a Buy Now button in the shape of a smartphone.”

    These are probably not the kinds of comments that already disappointed Amazon shareholders are enjoying hearing.

    PCWorld was a bit more positive after using the device for five days: “After spending several days with Amazon’s handset, I actually don’t think the Fire phone is unusable, or even bad. As far as first drafts go, it’s miles ahead of what BlackBerry and Microsoft achieved with their late entrants to the smartphone market.”

    They still seem to think there’s plenty of room for improvement, and Amazon will no doubt gather all of the complaints about its first model when designing the second.

    Here’s a teardown:

    “We can’t wait for customers to experience Amazon Fire for themselves,” said Ian Freed, vice president of Amazon Fire. “Fire offers an amazing value for customers with innovative features like Dynamic Perspective and Firefly, access to Amazon-exclusive content and services, including Mayday, ASAP and more –plus premium hardware with 32 GB of memory –twice the amount leading competitors offer, as well as free, unlimited photo storage in the Amazon Cloud and 12 months of Amazon Prime included.”

    “Fire pushes the boundaries of innovation, and is easy-to-use,” said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president – Devices, AT&T. “Amazon has a vast content ecosystem that consumers know and love. AT&T has built a reputation of offering innovative devices with great pricing options – all on the nation’s most reliable 4G LTE network. Together, we’re thrilled to offer a device that will be as dynamic as its name.”

    Fire with 32GB is available for $27.09 a month with AT&T Next 18 or $199 with a two-year contract. The 64GB version is $31.25 a month with AT&T Next 18 or $299 with a two-year contract.

    Image via Amazon

  • Amazon’s First Live-Action Kids Show Now Available

    Amazon has just released the first seven episodes of their first ever live-action show for kids. It’s called Annedroids, and it’s aimed at introducing scientific concepts to kids aged four through seven.

    According to Amazon:

    Annedroids is a live-action adventure series about “Anne,” a young female scientist, her human friends and their android assistants, and the amazing scientific discoveries they make while undertaking the biggest experiment of them all: growing up. The series spotlights, through trial and error, how science, technology, engineering, the arts and math (STEAM) can inspire children to do great things.

    Think Dora The Explorer, but with more science.

    “We’re thrilled to be working with Amazon on a series that organically showcases the STEAM curriculum by way of a ‘secret garden’ of science, a junkyard environment where it’s not unusual to see a 16-foot claw-like android helping an 11-year-old kid scientist harness lightning to power up her latest invention – and that’s just episode 1!” Said creator and executive producer J.J. Johnson. “With Anne, kid audiences will meet a new type of role model, an aspirational character who loves nothing more than to get her hands dirty and create.”

    This is the third kids series to debut from Amazon Studios, the previous two being Tumble Leaf and Creative Galaxy.

    Like other Amazon Studios’ originals, they’ll dangle the first few episodes in front of you all at once, and wait to premiere the rest of the season.

  • Amazon Reports 23% Sales Increase, $126 Million Loss

    Amazon Reports 23% Sales Increase, $126 Million Loss

    Amazon just released its earnings report for the second quarter. Net sales were up 23% year over year at $19.34 billion, which is in tune with analysts’ expectations, though earnings per share were – $0.27, which is a greater loss than expected. Stock immediately started going down.

    Operating cash flow was up 18% year-over-year at $5.33 billion, while free cash flow was up to $1.04 billion compared to $265 million last year. Operating loss was $15 million, compared to $79 million last year. Net loss was $126 million compared to $7 million last year.

    CEO Jeff Bezos said, “We continue working hard on making the Amazon customer experience better and better. We’ve recently introduced Sunday delivery coverage to 25% of the U.S. population, launched European cross-border Two-Day Delivery for Prime, launched Prime Music with over one million songs, created three original kids TV series, added world-class parental controls to Fire TV with FreeTime, and launched Kindle Unlimited, an eBook subscription service. For our AWS customers we launched Amazon Zocalo, T2 instances, an SSD-backed EBS volume, Amazon Cognito, Amazon Mobile Analytics, and the AWS Mobile SDK, and we substantially reduced prices. And today customers all over the U.S. will begin receiving their new Fire phones — including Firefly, Dynamic Perspective, and one full year of Prime — we can’t wait to get them in customers’ hands.”

    The company’s guidance has net sales at between $19.7 billion and $21.5 billion for the third quarter, or growing between 15% and 26% year-over-year.

    The company said on the conference call that it believes creating value for customers will ultimately create value for shareholders in the long run (or something to that effect).

    The Prime price increase hasn’t had a negative effect on subscriptions, according to the company. It points out that subscriptions are growing, and that it had more in Q2 this year than that of last year.

    It’s going to be in heavy production on some of its original video pilots in Q3, which will cost over $100 million.

    Here’s the release in its entirety:

    SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jul. 24, 2014– Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2014.

    Operating cash flow increased 18% to $5.33 billion for the trailing twelve months, compared with $4.53 billion for the trailing twelve months ended June 30, 2013. Free cash flow increased to $1.04 billion for the trailing twelve months, compared with $265 million for the trailing twelve months ended June 30, 2013. Free cash flow for the trailing twelve months ended June 30, 2013, includes cash outflows for purchases of corporate office space and property in Seattle, Washington, of $1.4 billion.

    Common shares outstanding plus shares underlying stock-based awards totaled 480 million on June 30, 2014, compared with 474 million one year ago.

    Net sales increased 23% to $19.34 billion in the second quarter, compared with $15.70 billion in second quarter 2013. Excluding the $237 million favorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, net sales grew 22% compared with second quarter 2013.

    Operating loss was $15 million in the second quarter, compared with operating income of $79 million in second quarter 2013. The favorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter on operating loss was $31 million.

    Net loss was $126 million in the second quarter, or $0.27 per diluted share, compared with net loss of $7 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, in second quarter 2013.

    “We continue working hard on making the Amazon customer experience better and better,” said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO ofAmazon.com. “We’ve recently introduced Sunday delivery coverage to 25% of the U.S. population, launched European cross-border Two-Day Delivery for Prime, launched Prime Music with over one million songs, created three original kids TV series, added world-class parental controls to Fire TV with FreeTime, and launched Kindle Unlimited, an eBook subscription service. For our AWS customers we launched Amazon Zocalo, T2 instances, an SSD-backed EBS volume, Amazon Cognito, Amazon Mobile Analytics, and the AWS Mobile SDK, and we substantially reduced prices. And today customers all over the U.S. will begin receiving their new Fire phones — including Firefly, Dynamic Perspective, and one full year of Prime — we can’t wait to get them in customers’ hands.”

    Highlights

    • Amazon introduced Fire phone, offering instant access to Amazon’s vast content ecosystem and exclusive features like the Mayday button, ASAP, Second Screen, X-Ray, Dynamic Perspective, Firefly, free unlimited photo storage, and more. Fire phone ships today and is available exclusively on AT&T — the nation’s most reliable 4G LTE network. Customers can order at www.amazon.com/Fire-phone, www.att.com, and in AT&T retail locations nationwide. Fire phone with 32GB is available for $199 with a two-year contract or zero down and $27.09 a month with AT&T Next 18.
    • Fire phone is the only smartphone with Dynamic Perspective and Firefly. Dynamic Perspective uses a new sensor system to respond to the way customers hold, view, and move Fire phone, enabling experiences not possible on other smartphones. Firefly quickly recognizes things in the real world — web and email addresses, phone numbers, QR and bar codes, movies, music, and millions of products, and lets users take action in seconds — all with the simple press of the Firefly button.
    • Amazon launched the Dynamic Perspective SDK and the Firefly SDK. The Dynamic Perspective SDK gives developers access to algorithms that identify the X, Y, and Z coordinates of the user’s head, enabling a whole new class of apps and games. The Firefly SDK allows developers to extend the use of the Firefly button to enable new actions for customers.
    • Amazon announced that Amazon Appstore selection has nearly tripled over the past year and developers continue to report strong monetization from the apps they offer in the store. Since Fire phone launched, the rate of app submissions to the Amazon Appstore has more than doubled as developers have already begun finding innovative uses of the phone’s enhanced carousel, Dynamic Perspective, and Firefly.
    • Amazon Game Studios announced two new games — Saber’s Edge and To-Fu Fury — created exclusively for Amazon’s new Fire phone. Saber’s Edge and To-Fu Fury are co-developed with partners, Hibernum and HotGen as part of Amazon Game Studios’ mission to build fun, immersive games from the ground up for Amazon devices.
    • Amazon FreeTime is now available on Fire TV, bringing revolutionary parental controls that are simple and easy to use. FreeTime gives kids an experience designed just for them, with character search and content all their own. It gives parents peace of mind and control, enabling them to explicitly pick what content is available in FreeTime and set time limits by content type. FreeTime Unlimited brings thousands of apps, games, movies, and TV shows, and removes in-app purchasing and ads.
    • Fire TV sales have significantly exceeded our sales forecast and we are working hard to increase our manufacturing output. Fire TV app selection has more than doubled since launch due to strong engagement from developers. Recent additions include MLB TV Premium, WWE Network, Animal Planet Live, and Grand Theft Auto.
    • Amazon introduced Prime Music, a new service that offers Prime members unlimited, ad-free access to over a million songs at no additional cost to their membership. In the week following its introduction, Prime members streamed tens of millions of songs — that’s millions of hours of music — and added tens of millions of songs and more than a million Prime Playlists to their music libraries, for free.
    • Amazon Studios introduced Amazon’s first two original children’s series: Tumble Leaf and Creative Galaxy, exclusively to Prime Instant Video, and will add a third, Annedroids, tomorrow. The first six episodes of each show are available this summer, with additional episodes to follow later this year. In addition, Amazon Studios has greenlit five additional new pilots — the dramatic thriller Hysteria, dramatic comedy Really, one hour drama Hand of God, and comedies The Cosmopolitans and Red Oaks — as part of its third pilot season debuting next month on Amazon Instant Video.
    • Amazon expanded Whispersync for Voice to include Kindle reading apps for iOS and Android, providing a seamless listening experience for Audible content right inside the Kindle app. Users can switch instantly between reading a Kindle book and listening to the companion audiobook from Audible — all with just one tap, without leaving the book.
    • Amazon introduced Kindle Unlimited — a new subscription service which allows customers to freely read as much as they want from over 600,000 Kindle books, and listen as much as they want to thousands of Audible audiobooks, all for only $9.99 a month. Finding a great book is easy, and there are never any due dates — just look for the Kindle Unlimited logo on eligible titles and click “Read for Free.” Customers can choose from best sellers like The Hunger Games, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and The Lord of the Rings.
    • More customers are using the Shop by Vehicle feature in the Amazon Automotive store than ever before. Over one million customers added their car, truck, or motorcycle to their Amazon Garage during the quarter to find products specifically designed to fit their vehicle, bringing the total count of active customers with a vehicle in the Amazon Garage to over 14 million.
    • AmazonFresh continued to expand its service in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas. AmazonFresh customers in Orange County, Berkeley, Oakland, and Silicon Valley now get same-day and early next-day delivery of fresh groceries as well as over 500,000 Amazon.com items.
    • Amazon has expanded Sunday delivery to 18 additional cities since launching in the Los Angeles and New York metro areas. Since Sunday delivery launched, millions of packages have been delivered on Sundays to Amazon customers. Amazon Prime members, who receive unlimited two-day shipping on millions of items, can order as late as Friday and receive their packages on Sunday, for free.
    • Amazon announced enhancements to its European cross border delivery network. Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.de Prime members now have access to free Two-Day Delivery for approximately one million additional products stored in Amazon’s European fulfillment centers located outside their respective countries.
    • Since launching the India marketplace website, Amazon.in, one year ago, Amazon has rapidly expanded selection to serve customers in India, averaging a launch of one new category every 13 days. With Amazon.in customers can shop from India’s largest store with ease and confidence from over 17 million products from a rapidly growing group of small and medium businesses.
    • The AWS team grew by thousands of employees this past year, expanding AWS infrastructure, enterprise and public sector sales capabilities and allowing the team to innovate at an accelerating pace.
    • With 250 significant service and feature releases year-to-date, and substantial price reductions for customers starting in the second quarter (28% to 51% depending on the service), AWS continues to grow strongly, with usage growth close to 90% year-over-year in the second quarter.
    • AWS announced a new general purpose instance type for Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). With On Demand Instance prices starting at $0.013 per hour, the new T2 instances are the lowest-cost Amazon EC2 instance option and are ideal for Web servers, developer environments, and small databases.
    • AWS announced several new capabilities to make it easier for developers to build, deploy, and scale mobile applications, including Amazon Cognito for identity management and syncing, Amazon Mobile Analytics to visualize and understand app usage data, and an AWS Mobile SDK, which provides easy, mobile-optimized access to other AWS services to power mobile apps that can scale from tens to hundreds of millions of users.
    • AWS announced Amazon Zocalo, a fully managed, secure enterprise storage and sharing service with strong administrative controls and feedback capabilities that improve user productivity. With Amazon Zocalo, customers can store, share, and gather feedback on documents, spreadsheets, presentations, webpages, images, PDFs, or text files — from the device of their choice.
    • AWS further enhanced its reliable, secure block storage service, Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS), announcing new encryption capabilities, introducing a new lower-cost SSD-backed EBS volume type, and reducing prices on EBS Provisioned IOPS volumes by 35 percent.

    Financial Guidance

    The following forward-looking statements reflect Amazon.com’s expectations as of July 24, 2014, and are subject to substantial uncertainty. Our results are inherently unpredictable and may be materially affected by many factors, such as fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, changes in global economic conditions and consumer spending, world events, the rate of growth of the Internet and online commerce, and the various factors detailed below.

    Third Quarter 2014 Guidance

    • Net sales are expected to be between $19.7 billion and $21.5 billion, or to grow between 15% and 26% compared with third quarter 2013.
    • Operating loss is expected to be between $810 million and $410 million, compared to $25 million in third quarter 2013.
    • This guidance includes approximately $410 million for stock-based compensation and amortization of intangible assets, and it assumes, among other things, that no additional business acquisitions, investments, restructurings, or legal settlements are concluded and that there are no further revisions to stock-based compensation estimates.

    A conference call will be webcast live today at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET, and will be available for at least three months at www.amazon.com/ir. This call will contain forward-looking statements and other material information regarding the Company’s financial and operating results.

    These forward-looking statements are inherently difficult to predict. Actual results could differ materially for a variety of reasons, including, in addition to the factors discussed above, the amount that Amazon.com invests in new business opportunities and the timing of those investments, the mix of products sold to customers, the mix of net sales derived from products as compared with services, the extent to which we owe income taxes, competition, management of growth, potential fluctuations in operating results, international growth and expansion, the outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment and data center optimization, risks of inventory management, seasonality, the degree to which the Company enters into, maintains, and develops commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, payments risks, and risks of fulfillment throughput and productivity. Other risks and uncertainties include, among others, risks related to new products, services, and technologies, system interruptions, government regulation and taxation, and fraud. In addition, the current global economic climate amplifies many of these risks. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com’s financial results is included in Amazon.com’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.

    Our investor relations website is www.amazon.com/ir and we encourage investors to use it as a way of easily finding information about us. We promptly make available on this website, free of charge, the reports that we file or furnish with the SEC, corporate governance information (including our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics), and select press releases and social media postings.

    About Amazon.com

    Amazon opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided by three principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire phone, Fire tablets, and Fire TV are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon.

    AMAZON.COM, INC.
    Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
    (in millions)
    (unaudited)
    Three Months Ended
    June 30,    		 Six Months Ended
    June 30,    		 Twelve Months Ended
    June 30,
    2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013
    CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $ 5,074 $ 4,481 $ 8,658 $ 8,084 $ 3,704 $ 2,335
    OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
    Net income (loss) (126 ) (7 ) (18 ) 75 181 (101 )
    Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash from operating activities:
    Depreciation of property and equipment, including internal-use software and website development, and other amortization 1,109 756 2,119 1,457 3,916 2,673
    Stock-based compensation 391 298 711 526 1,318 978
    Other operating expense (income), net 28 32 62 63 113 139
    Losses (gains) on sales of marketable securities, net (1 ) — (1 ) — 1 (6 )
    Other expense (income), net (8 ) 42 (57 ) 110 (1 ) 367
    Deferred income taxes (49 ) 21 (234 ) (58 ) (332 ) (243 )
    Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation — — (121 ) — (199 ) (304 )
    Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
    Inventories 92 (30 ) 791 505 (1,124 ) (1,116 )
    Accounts receivable, net and other (299 ) (211 ) 428 518 (936 ) (922 )
    Accounts payable (344 ) — (5,018 ) (4,187 ) 1,056 1,962
    Accrued expenses and other (15 ) (77 ) (746 ) (780 ) 770 728
    Additions to unearned revenue 894 516 1,986 1,200 3,477 2,217
    Amortization of previously unearned revenue (810 ) (460 ) (1,542 ) (921 ) (2,913 ) (1,840 )
    Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities 862 880 (1,640 ) (1,492 ) 5,327 4,532
    INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
    Purchases of property and equipment, including internal-use software and website development (1,290 ) (855 ) (2,370 ) (1,526 ) (4,288 ) (4,267 )
    Acquisitions, net of cash acquired, and other (67 ) (148 ) (66 ) (251 ) (127 ) (323 )
    Sales and maturities of marketable securities and other investments 962 696 1,555 1,296 2,565 2,544
    Purchases of marketable securities and other investments (336 ) (1,113 ) (773 ) (1,888 ) (1,710 ) (3,774 )
    Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities (731 ) (1,420 ) (1,654 ) (2,369 ) (3,560 ) (5,820 )
    FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
    Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation — — 121 — 199 304
    Proceeds from long-term debt and other 286 81 351 107 627 3,274
    Repayments of long-term debt, capital lease, and finance lease obligations (475 ) (290 ) (836 ) (473 ) (1,363 ) (748 )
    Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities (189 ) (209 ) (364 ) (366 ) (537 ) 2,830
    Foreign-currency effect on cash and cash equivalents 41 (28 ) 57 (153 ) 123 (173 )
    Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents (17 ) (777 ) (3,601 ) (4,380 ) 1,353 1,369
    CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, END OF PERIOD $ 5,057 $ 3,704 $ 5,057 $ 3,704 $ 5,057 $ 3,704
    SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMATION:
    Cash paid for interest on long-term debt $ 31 $ 39 $ 49 $ 52 $ 94 $ 68
    Cash paid for income taxes (net of refunds) 71 34 109 120 158 193
    Property and equipment acquired under capital leases 920 447 1,636 787 2,716 1,233
    Property and equipment acquired under build-to-suit leases 237 244 363 394 846 392
    AMAZON.COM, INC.
    Consolidated Statements of Operations
    (in millions, except per share data)
    (unaudited)
    Three Months Ended
    June 30,    		 Six Months Ended
    June 30,
    2014 2013 2014 2013
    Net product sales $ 15,251 $ 12,752 $ 30,956 $ 26,023
    Net services sales 4,089 2,952 8,125 5,751
    Total net sales 19,340 15,704 39,081 31,774
    Operating expenses (1):
    Cost of sales 13,399 11,209 27,453 23,010
    Fulfillment 2,382 1,837 4,699 3,633
    Marketing 943 675 1,813 1,307
    Technology and content 2,226 1,586 4,217 2,969
    General and administrative 377 286 704 531
    Other operating expense (income), net 28 32 63 64
    Total operating expenses 19,355 15,625 38,949 31,514
    Income (loss) from operations (15 ) 79 132 260
    Interest income 11 9 21 19
    Interest expense (45 ) (33 ) (87 ) (66 )
    Other income (expense), net 22 (38 ) 27 (115 )
    Total non-operating income (expense) (12 ) (62 ) (39 ) (162 )
    Income (loss) before income taxes (27 ) 17 93 98
    Benefit (provision) for income taxes (94 ) (13 ) (167 ) 6
    Equity-method investment activity, net of tax (5 ) (11 ) 56 (29 )
    Net income (loss) $ (126 ) $ (7 ) $ (18 ) $ 75
    Basic earnings per share $ (0.27 ) $ (0.02 ) $ (0.04 ) $ 0.16
    Diluted earnings per share $ (0.27 ) $ (0.02 ) $ (0.04 ) $ 0.16
    Weighted average shares used in computation of earnings per share:
    Basic 461 456 460 455
    Diluted 461 456 460 463
    ______________________________
    (1) Includes stock-based compensation as follows:
    Fulfillment $ 104 $ 81 $ 184 $ 142
    Marketing 32 24 59 40
    Technology and content 206 155 375 274
    General and administrative 49 38 93 70
    AMAZON.COM, INC.
    Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss)
    (in millions)
    (unaudited)
    Three Months Ended
    June 30,    		 Six Months Ended
    June 30,
    2014 2013 2014 2013
    Net income (loss) $ (126 ) $ (7 ) $ (18 ) $ 75
    Other comprehensive income (loss):
    Foreign currency translation adjustments, net of tax of $0, $(4), $1 and $(13) 11 7 39 (71 )
    Net change in unrealized gains on available-for-sale securities:
    Unrealized gains (losses), net of tax of $0, $3, $(1) and $4 3 (7 ) 4 (9 )
    Reclassification adjustment for losses (gains) included in “Other income (expense), net,” net of tax of $0, $0, $0 and $0 (1 ) — (1 ) —
    Net unrealized gains (losses) on available-for-sale securities 2 (7 ) 3 (9 )
    Total other comprehensive income (loss) 13 — 42 (80 )
    Comprehensive income (loss) $ (113 ) $ (7 ) $ 24 $ (5 )
    AMAZON.COM, INC.
    Segment Information
    (in millions)
    (unaudited)
    Three Months Ended
    June 30,    		 Six Months Ended
    June 30,
    2014 2013 2014 2013
    North America
    Net sales $ 11,998 $ 9,495 $ 23,856 $ 18,886
    Segment operating expenses (1) 11,560 9,086 22,856 18,020
    Segment operating income $ 438 $ 409 $ 1,000 $ 866
    International
    Net sales $ 7,342 $ 6,209 $ 15,225 $ 12,888
    Segment operating expenses (1) 7,376 6,209 15,319 12,904
    Segment operating income (loss) $ (34 ) $ — $ (94 ) $ (16 )
    Consolidated
    Net sales $ 19,340 $ 15,704 $ 39,081 $ 31,774
    Segment operating expenses (1) 18,936 15,295 38,175 30,924
    Segment operating income 404 409 906 850
    Stock-based compensation (391 ) (298 ) (711 ) (526 )
    Other operating income (expense), net (28 ) (32 ) (63 ) (64 )
    Income (loss) from operations (15 ) 79 132 260
    Total non-operating income (expense) (12 ) (62 ) (39 ) (162 )
    Benefit (provision) for income taxes (94 ) (13 ) (167 ) 6
    Equity-method investment activity, net of tax (5 ) (11 ) 56 (29 )
    Net income (loss) $ (126 ) $ (7 ) $ (18 ) $ 75
    Segment Highlights:
    Y/Y net sales growth:
    North America 26 % 30 % 26 % 28 %
    International 18 13 18 14
    Consolidated 23 22 23 22
    Y/Y segment operating income/loss growth (decline):
    North America 7 % 19 % 15 % 25 %
    International N/A (99 ) 481 (125 )
    Consolidated (1 ) 14 7 12
    Net sales mix:
    North America 62 % 60 % 61 % 59 %
    International 38 40 39 41
    100 % 100 % 100 % 100 %
    ______________________________
    (1) Represents operating expenses, excluding stock-based compensation and “Other operating expense (income), net,” which are not allocated to segments.
    AMAZON.COM, INC.
    Supplemental Net Sales Information
    (in millions)
    (unaudited)
    Three Months Ended
    June 30,    		 Six Months Ended
    June 30,
    2014 2013 2014 2013
    Net Sales:
    North America
    Media $ 2,464 $ 2,173 $ 5,289 $ 4,686
    Electronics and other general merchandise 8,366 6,478 16,196 12,606
    Other (1) 1,168 844 2,371 1,594
    Total North America $ 11,998 $ 9,495 $ 23,856 $ 18,886
    International
    Media $ 2,380 $ 2,224 $ 5,022 $ 4,769
    Electronics and other general merchandise 4,912 3,937 10,100 8,024
    Other (1) 50 48 103 95
    Total International $ 7,342 $ 6,209 $ 15,225 $ 12,888
    Consolidated
    Media $ 4,844 $ 4,397 $ 10,311 $ 9,455
    Electronics and other general merchandise 13,278 10,415 26,296 20,629
    Other (1) 1,218 892 2,474 1,690
    Total consolidated $ 19,340 $ 15,704 $ 39,081 $ 31,774
    Year-over-year Percentage Growth:
    North America
    Media 13 % 16 % 13 % 15 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise 29 31 28 30
    Other 38 64 49 64
    Total North America 26 30 26 28
    International
    Media 7 % (1) % 5 % — %
    Electronics and other general merchandise 25 22 26 25
    Other 4 22 8 18
    Total International 18 13 18 14
    Consolidated
    Media 10 % 7 % 9 % 7 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise 27 28 27 28
    Other 37 61 46 60
    Total consolidated 23 22 23 22
    Year-over-year Percentage Growth:
    Excluding the effect of exchange rates
    International
    Media 4 % 7 % 4 % 7 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise 20 29 23 31
    Other (1)   27 5 22
    Total International 14 20 16 21
    Consolidated
    Media 9 % 11 % 8 % 11 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise 26 30 27 30
    Other 36 61 46 61
    Total consolidated 22 25 22 25
    Consolidated Net Sales Mix:
    Media 25 % 28 % 27 % 30 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise 69 66 67 65
    Other 6 6 6 5
    Total consolidated 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 %
    ______________________________
    (1) Includes sales from non-retail activities, such as AWS sales, which are included in the North America segment, and advertising services and our co-branded credit card agreements, which are included in both segments.
    AMAZON.COM, INC.
    Consolidated Balance Sheets
    (in millions, except per share data)
    June 30, 2014 December 31, 2013
    (unaudited)
    ASSETS
    Current assets:
    Cash and cash equivalents $ 5,057 $ 8,658
    Marketable securities 2,929 3,789
    Inventories 6,644 7,411
    Accounts receivable, net and other 4,125 4,767
    Total current assets 18,755 24,625
    Property and equipment, net 14,089 10,949
    Goodwill 2,677 2,655
    Other assets 2,377 1,930
    Total assets $ 37,898 $ 40,159
    LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
    Current liabilities:
    Accounts payable $ 10,457 $ 15,133
    Accrued expenses and other 6,688 6,688
    Unearned revenue 1,606 1,159
    Total current liabilities 18,751 22,980
    Long-term debt 3,119 3,191
    Other long-term liabilities 5,426 4,242
    Commitments and contingencies
    Stockholders’ equity:
    Preferred stock, $0.01 par value:
    Authorized shares — 500
    Issued and outstanding shares — none — —
    Common stock, $0.01 par value:
    Authorized shares — 5,000
    Issued shares — 486 and 483
    Outstanding shares — 462 and 459 5 5
    Treasury stock, at cost (1,837 ) (1,837 )
    Additional paid-in capital 10,405 9,573
    Accumulated other comprehensive loss (143 ) (185 )
    Retained earnings 2,172 2,190
    Total stockholders’ equity 10,602 9,746
    Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 37,898 $ 40,159
    AMAZON.COM, INC.
    Supplemental Financial Information and Business Metrics
    (in millions, except per share data)
    (unaudited)
    Q2 2013 Q3 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Y/Y %
    Change
    Cash Flows and Shares
    Operating cash flow — trailing twelve months (TTM) $ 4,532 $ 4,977 $ 5,475 $ 5,345 $ 5,327 18 %
    Purchases of property and equipment (incl. internal-use software & website development) — TTM $ 4,267 $ 4,589 $ 3,444 $ 3,854 $ 4,288 1 %
    Free cash flow (operating cash flow less purchases of property and equipment) — TTM $ 265 $ 388 $ 2,031 $ 1,491 $ 1,039 292 %
    Free cash flow — TTM Y/Y growth (decline) (76 )% (63 )% 414 % 744 % 292 % N/A
    Invested capital (1) $ 13,115 $ 14,306 $ 15,749 $ 16,681 $ 17,743 35 %
    Return on invested capital (2) 2 % 3 % 13 % 9 % 6 % N/A
    Common shares and stock-based awards outstanding 474 475 476 476 480 1 %
    Common shares outstanding 457 458 459 460 462 1 %
    Stock awards outstanding 17 17 17 16 18 4 %
    Stock awards outstanding — % of common shares outstanding 3.8 % 3.8 % 3.6 % 3.5 % 3.9 % N/A
    Results of Operations
    Worldwide (WW) net sales $ 15,704 $ 17,092 $ 25,587 $ 19,741 $ 19,340 23 %
    WW net sales — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 25 % 26 % 22 % 23 % 22 % N/A
    WW net sales — TTM $ 66,848 $ 70,133 $ 74,452 $ 78,124 $ 81,759 22 %
    WW net sales — TTM Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 25 % 25 % 24 % 24 % 23 % N/A
    Operating income (loss) $ 79 $ (25 ) $ 510 $ 146 $ (15 ) (118 )%
    Operating income/loss — Y/Y growth (decline), excluding F/X (9 )% (33 )% 24 % (29 )% (158 )% N/A
    Operating margin — % of WW net sales 0.5 % (0.1 )% 2.0 % 0.7 % (0.1 )% N/A
    Operating income — TTM $ 637 $ 640 $ 745 $ 710 $ 617 (3 )%
    Operating income — TTM Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 3 % 27 % 14 % 7 % (11 )% N/A
    Operating margin — TTM % of WW net sales 1.0 % 0.9 % 1.0 % 0.9 % 0.8 % N/A
    Net income (loss) $ (7 ) $ (41 ) $ 239 $ 108 $ (126 ) N/A
    Net income (loss) per diluted share $ (0.02 ) $ (0.09 ) $ 0.51 $ 0.23 $ (0.27 ) N/A
    Net income (loss) — TTM $ (101 ) $ 132 $ 274 $ 299 $ 181 N/A
    Net income (loss) per diluted share — TTM $ (0.22 ) $ 0.28 $ 0.59 $ 0.64 $ 0.39 N/A
    Segments
    North America Segment:
    Net sales $ 9,495 $ 10,301 $ 15,331 $ 11,858 $ 11,998 26 %
    Net sales — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 30 % 31 % 26 % 26 % 26 % N/A
    Net sales — TTM $ 38,945 $ 41,361 $ 44,517 $ 46,984 $ 49,487 27 %
    Operating income $ 409 $ 295 $ 725 $ 562 $ 438 7 %
    Operating margin — % of North America net sales 4.3 % 2.9 % 4.7 % 4.7 % 3.7 % N/A
    Operating income — TTM $ 1,766 $ 1,770 $ 1,886 $ 1,992 $ 2,020 14 %
    Operating income — TTM Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 58 % 40 % 18 % 17 % 14 % N/A
    Operating margin — TTM % of North America net sales 4.5 % 4.3 % 4.2 % 4.2 % 4.1 % N/A
    International Segment:
    Net sales $ 6,209 $ 6,791 $ 10,256 $ 7,883 $ 7,342 18 %
    Net sales — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 20 % 20 % 15 % 18 % 14 % N/A
    Net sales — TTM $ 27,903 $ 28,772 $ 29,935 $ 31,140 $ 32,272 16 %
    Net sales — TTM % of WW net sales 42 % 41 % 40 % 40 % 39 % N/A
    Operating income (loss) $ — $ (28 ) $ 151 $ (60 ) $ (34 ) N/A
    Operating margin — % of International net sales — % (0.4 )% 1.5 % (0.8 )% (0.5 )% N/A
    Operating income (loss) — TTM $ (6 ) $ 25 $ 107 $ 63 $ 29 N/A
    Operating income/loss — TTM Y/Y growth (decline), excluding F/X (82 )% (56 )% 106 % 770 % N/A N/A
    Operating margin — TTM % of International net sales — % 0.1 % 0.4 % 0.2 % 0.1 % N/A
    Consolidated Segments:
    Operating expenses (3) $ 15,295 $ 16,825 $ 24,711 $ 19,239 $ 18,936 24 %
    Operating expenses — TTM (3) $ 65,087 $ 68,338 $ 72,459 $ 76,069 $ 79,710 22 %
    Operating income $ 409 $ 267 $ 876 $ 502 $ 404 (1 )%
    Operating margin — % of Consolidated net sales 2.6 % 1.6 % 3.4 % 2.5 % 2.1 % N/A
    Operating income — TTM $ 1,760 $ 1,795 $ 1,993 $ 2,055 $ 2,049 16 %
    Operating income — TTM Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 21 % 26 % 21 % 20 % 14 % N/A
    Operating margin — TTM % of Consolidated net sales 2.6 % 2.6 % 2.7 % 2.6 % 2.5 % N/A
    AMAZON.COM, INC.
    Supplemental Financial Information and Business Metrics
    (in millions, except inventory turnover, accounts payable days and employee data)
    (unaudited)
    Q2 2013 Q3 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Y/Y %
    Change
    Supplemental
    Supplemental North America Segment Net Sales:
    Media $ 2,173 $ 2,609 $ 3,513 $ 2,825 $ 2,464 13 %
    Media — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 16 % 18 % 21 % 13 % 14 % N/A
    Media — TTM $ 9,805 $ 10,199 $ 10,809 $ 11,121 $ 11,411 16 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise $ 6,478 $ 6,732 $ 10,648 $ 7,829 $ 8,366 29 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 31 % 33 % 25 % 28 % 29 % N/A
    Electronics and other general merchandise — TTM $ 26,169 $ 27,840 $ 29,985 $ 31,686 $ 33,575 28 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise — TTM % of North America net sales 67 % 67 % 67 % 67 % 68 % N/A
    Other $ 844 $ 960 $ 1,170 $ 1,204 $ 1,168 38 %
    Other — TTM $ 2,971 $ 3,322 $ 3,723 $ 4,177 $ 4,501 51 %
    Supplemental International Segment Net Sales:
    Media $ 2,224 $ 2,424 $ 3,714 $ 2,642 $ 2,380 7 %
    Media — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 7 % 9 % 6 % 4 % 4 % N/A
    Media — TTM $ 10,764 $ 10,803 $ 10,907 $ 11,004 $ 11,160 4 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise $ 3,937 $ 4,316 $ 6,478 $ 5,188 $ 4,912 25 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 29 % 28 % 21 % 26 % 20 % N/A
    Electronics and other general merchandise — TTM $ 16,952 $ 17,771 $ 18,817 $ 19,919 $ 20,894 23 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise — TTM % of International net sales 61 % 62 % 63 % 64 % 65 % N/A
    Other $ 48 $ 51 $ 64 $ 53 $ 50 4 %
    Other — TTM $ 187 $ 198 $ 211 $ 217 $ 218 17 %
    Supplemental Worldwide Net Sales:
    Media $ 4,397 $ 5,033 $ 7,227 $ 5,467 $ 4,844 10 %
    Media — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 11 % 13 % 13 % 8 % 9 % N/A
    Media — TTM $ 20,569 $ 21,002 $ 21,716 $ 22,125 $ 22,571 10 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise $ 10,415 $ 11,048 $ 17,126 $ 13,017 $ 13,278 27 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise — Y/Y growth, excluding F/X 30 % 31 % 24 % 27 % 26 % N/A
    Electronics and other general merchandise — TTM $ 43,121 $ 45,611 $ 48,802 $ 51,605 $ 54,469 26 %
    Electronics and other general merchandise — TTM % of WW net sales 65 % 65 % 66 % 66 % 67 % N/A
    Other $ 892 $ 1,011 $ 1,234 $ 1,257 $ 1,218 37 %
    Other — TTM $ 3,158 $ 3,520 $ 3,934 $ 4,394 $ 4,719 49 %
    Balance Sheet
    Cash and marketable securities $ 7,463 $ 7,689 $ 12,447 $ 8,666 $ 7,986 7 %
    Inventory, net — ending $ 5,420 $ 6,068 $ 7,411 $ 6,716 $ 6,644 23 %
    Inventory turnover, average — TTM 9.4 9.2 8.9 9.1 9.1 (3 )%
    Property and equipment, net $ 8,789 $ 9,991 $ 10,949 $ 12,267 $ 14,089 60 %
    Accounts payable — ending $ 8,990 $ 10,037 $ 15,133 $ 10,590 $ 10,457 16 %
    Accounts payable days — ending 73 75 74 68 71 (3 )%
    Other
    WW shipping revenue $ 646 $ 721 $ 1,137 $ 849 $ 889 38 %
    WW shipping costs $ 1,364 $ 1,532 $ 2,344 $ 1,829 $ 1,812 33 %
    WW net shipping costs $ 718 $ 811 $ 1,207 $ 980 $ 923 29 %
    WW net shipping costs — % of WW net sales 4.6 % 4.7 % 4.7 % 5.0 % 4.8 % N/A
    Employees (full-time and part-time; excludes contractors & temporary personnel) 97,000 109,800 117,300 124,600 132,600 37 %
    ______________________________
    (1) Average Total Assets minus Current Liabilities (excluding current portion of Long-Term Debt) over five quarter ends.
    (2) TTM Free Cash Flow divided by Invested Capital.
    (3) Represents cost of sales, fulfillment, marketing, technology and content, and general and administrative operating expenses, excluding stock-based compensation.

    Amazon.com, Inc.
    Certain Definitions

    Customer Accounts

    • References to customers mean customer accounts, which are unique e-mail addresses, established either when a customer places an order or when a customer orders from other sellers on our websites. Customer accounts exclude certain customers, including customers associated with certain of our acquisitions, Amazon Payments customers, Amazon Web Services customers, and the customers of select companies with whom we have a technology alliance or marketing and promotional relationship. Customers are considered active when they have placed an order during the preceding twelve-month period.

    Seller Accounts

    • References to sellers means seller accounts, which are established when a seller receives an order from a customer account. Sellers are considered active when they have received an order from a customer during the preceding twelve-month period.

    Registered Developers

    • References to registered developers mean cumulative registered developer accounts, which are established when potential developers enroll with Amazon Web Services and receive a developer access key.

    Units

     

    Source: Amazon.com, Inc.

     

    Image via Amazon

  • Amazon Launches Exclusive Games For Fire Phone

    Amazon’s Fire phone comes out on Friday, and ahead of the release, the company is showing off some new games made exclusively for the device, taking advantage of its “Dynamic Perspective” technology.

    Dynamic Perspective uses a set of front-facing cameras to track the motion of the user’s head, and alter the perspective of what’s happening on the screen accordingly. It’s one of a couple interesting and unique features Amazon’s device brings to the table.

    Saber’s Edge and To-Fu Fury were co-developed with partners Hibernum and HotGen as part of Amazon Game Studios’ offerings.

    “Amazon Game Studios is working with some of the best studios to co-develop games that leverage the amazing capabilities of our new devices,” said Mike Frazzini, Vice President of Amazon Games. “The new games we are releasing today deeply integrate Dynamic Perspective and offer players new ways to engage with games—using head movements to navigate gameplay and tilt gestures to strategize upcoming moves. Saber’s Edge and To-Fu Fury are just the beginning of what Amazon Game Studios and the entire game development community can do using the immersive new Dynamic Perspective technology built into Fire phone.”

    Here’s the description for Saber’s Edge:

    Set in a unique universe of steampunk scoundrels and cloud cities, Saber’s Edge is a strategic match-3 puzzle game where players match tiles across four sides of a rotating cube at the bottom of the screen to help pirates battle rival crews at the top of the screen. The more matches players make, the more firepower they give their pirates in battle. Using Dynamic Perspective, players peek around the corners of the cube to see opportunities to extend their matches, or tilt the device to spin the cube left or right to the next cube face. The victorious are rewarded with treasure used to build a pirate crew powerful enough to eventually reign supreme.

    And for To-Fu Fury:

    Cheat death, defeat enemies, and save the Fortune Kitty in To-Fu Fury, a humorous action game where the player becomes To-Fu, a stretchy, sticky, flingy, and combative cube of bean-curd. Set in a distant land of dojos, temples, and ninjas, players must navigate To-Fu through deadly spikes, devious traps, and powerful enemies to free Fortune Kitty. Each element of the game comes to life on Fire phone’s innovative interface with this new look of the popular To-Fu series. Players can use their head to peek around levels, see their obstacles and plot their strategy.

    Early reviews of the Fire phone haven’t been incredibly positive, but it’s early days for the technology. Time will tell if Amazon has something significant on its hands.

    Right now, the company seems to think the biggest selling point is the free year of Prime it’s offering with the device, and getting people signed up for that might be the overall goal anyway. It appears to be the point of other recent endeavors.

    Image via Amazon

  • Amazon Reportedly Has A Self-Serve Ad Tool

    Amazon reportedly has a new programmatic advertising offering, which enables agencies to buy ads on a self-serve basis.

    AdAge reports that Publicis Groupe’s VivaKi is signed on as the first agency to use it, and that it runs ads on Amazon-owned sites as well as on a network of third-party sites.

    The report quotes Amazon VP-North American advertising sales Seth Dallaire as saying, “Allowing an agency to create campaigns on its own … with its own hand on the keyboard will create better results for their clients, and in turn, it’s going to create more relevant advertising for Amazon’s customers.”

    It’s unclear when the offering might roll out on a wider scale.

    Last week, Amazon announced the expansion of its mobile ads API to enable iOS developers to use interstitial and banner ads from its mobile ad network in their apps. It already allowed developers on Android and Fire OS to do so.

    The company also announced that starting on July 25th, ads would also be able to be displayed on the new Fire phone.

    Image via Olli, Flickr Creative Commons

  • Amazon Launches Wallet App For Android, Fire Phone

    Amazon Launches Wallet App For Android, Fire Phone

    Amazon has launched a new Amazon Wallet app ahead of the release of its new Fire phone (which a lot of developers are already embracing).

    The app simply taps into the credit and debit cards you already have on file with Amazon, as well as any gift card balance you may have. You can, of course, add payment methods, including checking accounts and other non-Amazon gift cards and loyalty cards.

    It lets you scan and save cards with your phone, check your balances, and use cards at participating stores.

    The app is available via the Amazon Appstore and Google Play (via TechCrunch), making it available to Android users as opposed to just Fire phone users.

    The Google Play description is as follows:

    Use the Amazon Wallet app to simplify your shopping trips, and never lose another gift card or rewards membership number. Scan or type your gift cards, loyalty cards and membership cards to your Amazon Wallet to reduce the clutter in your leather wallet or purse. Wherever you are, the information you need is easily available as a barcode, QR code, text or image. For supported merchants, check the balance of your stored gift cards. Information saved in your Amazon Wallet is stored securely in the Amazon cloud. In addition, your Amazon Wallet cards can be viewed and edited at Amazon.com/wallet, where you will also find the credit cards, bank accounts, and other payment methods saved in your Amazon account.

    The app is in beta.

    Images via Google Play

  • Amazon Sees A Lot Of Developer Action Ahead Of Fire Phone Release

    Amazon’s new Fire phone will see its release on Friday, and the company is taking the opportunity to talk about the developer “excitement” related to the platform and features that are unique to the device.

    “As we approach the release of Amazon’s Fire phone this week, we wanted to share some news out of the Amazon Appstore around the developer excitement we’re already seeing,” a spokesperson for the company tells WebProNews. “In the week following the announcement of the device, the Appstore received more app submissions than any other weeks since it opened in 2011. Overall, the Appstore has received its highest number ever of app submissions and developer registrations.”

    The Appstore’s selection has nearly tripled over the past year, and app submissions are are at record levels since the Fire phone launch event.

    “Developers are also finding innovative uses of the Dynamic Perspective SDK and Firefly SDK, two new breakthrough technologies that allows users to see and interact with their apps in a whole new way,” they said. “The Dynamic Perspective SDK gives developers the ability to incorporate peek, tilt and zoom capabilities based on head movements and other motions. With the Firefly SDK developers can build apps that recognize real world objects such as QR and bar codes, artwork, songs, movies and more.”

    eBay, Groupon, Kik, Sega, Trove, TV Guide, Wall Street Journal and Whatsapp are among those already using the technology.

    “When we launched Fire phone, we couldn’t wait to see what developers were going to build with Dynamic Perspective and Firefly,” said Mike George, Vice President of the Amazon Appstore. “While the underlying technologies for Dynamic Perspective and Firefly are sophisticated, we’ve made it simple for developers to harness their capabilities. Developers can mix and match APIs from the Dynamic Perspective and Firefly SDKs with standard Android APIs to create the best experience for their app or game. And in just the few weeks since we unveiled Fire phone, we’ve been blown away with the new, innovative use cases developed with these groundbreaking technologies.”

    It’s interesting that while the company has played up these technologies a great deal for developers, and at the launch event, they weren’t even mentioned in the device’s first commercial. That was all about Amazon Prime, as the device comes with a free year (for now). Another ad for the phone is expected this week. We’ll see if the unique features (or the cameras that track your every move) are brought up.

    Image via Amazon

  • Is Amazon Prime The Fire Phone’s Biggest Selling Point?

    Is Amazon Prime The Fire Phone’s Biggest Selling Point?

    A month ago, Amazon unveiled its Fire phone, an incredibly advanced smartphone apparently aimed at getting more people buying items from their mobile devices than ever before. For than that, however, it’s a way for Amazon to suck more users into its ecosystem, including its popular Amazon Prime service.

    Do you plan on getting a Fire phone? Do you expect the device to become popular? Share your thoughts in the comments.

    This week, Amazon released its first commercial for the device, and it isn’t any of the device’s fancy features being played up. It’s Amazon Prime – a service that has been around for about nine years. Take a look.

    “Prime” is mentioned three times in the thirty-second spot. The whole premise of it is that the kids are watching stuff with Amazon Prime. There were no mentions of “Dynamic Perspective” or “Firefly,” which are two of the most talked-about features of the device, and the things the company really played up at the launch event.

    Even the video title is “Introducing Amazon Fire Phone — Includes One Year of Prime”. The description on YouTube says:

    Now airing the new Amazon Fire phone TV commercial. For a limited time, every Fire phone includes a full year of Prime benefits (a $99 value), including Prime Instant Video (over 40,000 movies and TV episodes), Free Two-Day Shipping, and over one million songs and more. If you already have Prime, we’ll extend your membership for a full year. Fire phone also comes with the innovative Firefly technology, so you can recognize more than 100 million movies, songs, products, books and more.

    Again, this is the first ad Amazon has put out for the device. For a lot of people, who don’t keep up with tech news (and perhaps some who were on vacation when Amazon unveiled the phone), this is going to be their first look at the Fire phone, which makes it all the more interesting that Amazon chose this route.

    It’s not really a surprise that Amazon would play up Amazon Prime in the spot, but it’s interesting that this is pretty much the only selling point they’re bothering to show consumers. It’s pretty smart. A year of free Prime is an attractive offer, because not only do you get access to that streaming video content, you get free two-day shipping on items, and access to over a million songs with Prime Music and half a million free ebooks.

    It’s a limited offer, so they definitely want to push it right away.

    More importantly for Amazon, the offer is bound to get people hooked on all of that, and by way of the phone’s other features and operating system, it gets people hooked into the Amazon ecosystem, which while built using Android, is separate from Google’s and Apple’s. Prime is a competitive advantage, even when it comes to hardware.

    Amazon is finding more and more ways to scoop up users, and even just launched a Netflix-like offering for eBooks in Kindle Unlimited.

    The Fire phone will become available next Friday through AT&T. Another ad is expected to drop before that. It will be interesting to see if Amazon plays up other features in that one, or will just stick with focusing on dangling Prime in front of consumers.

    It’s unclear how long Amazon will continue to offer a free year of Amazon Prime with the device. It probably depends on how well the promotion does from the onset.

    So what are “Dynamic Perspective” and “Firefly” anyway? Well, if you missed the unveiling, we covered it here, and talked about how the device could impact ecommerce here.

    As Amazon explained at the launch, “Dynamic Perspective uses a new sensor system to respond to the way you hold, view, and move Fire, enabling experiences not possible on other smartphones. Firefly quickly recognizes things in the real world—web and email addresses, phone numbers, QR and bar codes, movies, music, and millions of products, and lets you take action in seconds—all with the simple press of the Firefly button.”

    Yep, the phone has a button that lets you point the device at products, and bring up pages to buy them. Businesses are about to have a whole new showrooming element to deal with.

    Do you expect the Fire Phone to be an ecommerce game-changer? Will Amazon’s offer of a free year of Prime entice people to buy it? Tell us what you think.

  • Amazon Launches Kindle Unlimited Service

    Earlier this week, a new Amazon product called Kindle Unlimited was spotted in the wild without any announcement from the company. Now, that announcement has come.

    Kindle Unlimited costs $9.99 a month, and gives customers unlimited access to over 600,000 eBooks and thousands of audiobooks on any device. It’s basically a Netflix for reading (and listening to books).

    “With Kindle Unlimited, you won’t have to think twice before you try a new author or genre—you can just start reading and listening,” said Russ Grandinetti, Senior Vice President, Kindle. “In addition to offering over 600,000 eBooks, Kindle Unlimited is also by far the most cost-effective way to enjoy audiobooks and eBooks together. With thousands of Whispersync for Voice-enabled audiobooks to choose from, you can easily switch between reading and listening to a book, allowing the story to continue even when your eyes are busy. We hope you take advantage of the 30-day free trial and try it for yourself.”

    The service may not offer all the books you’re looking for – just as Netflix doesn’t stream all the movies you’re looking for – but it offers enough popular titles to pique the interest of avid readers. It doesn’t have much of a Stephen King selection, for example, but it has the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Harry Potter series, Life of Pi, and the DIary of a Wimpy Kid books, to name a few. It does include hundreds of thousands of Kindle exclusives, and thousands of “short-read” ebooks with less than a hundred pages, including Kindle Singles.

    Amazon is offering a free three-month Audible membership to those who sign up for Kindle Unlimited.

    For the company, it’s yet another way to suck people into the broader Amazon ecosystem, which is rapidly expanding with new shopping services, exclusive streaming video, streaming audio, and a new advanced smartphone.

    You can browse Kindle Unlimited’s offerings here.

    Image via Amazon