Less profit than expected for Amazon

Lower profit and turnover

A 176 million net profit meant a 51 cent profit per share, while analysts had expected a 69 cent per share. The number turned out lower because of investments in logistics, necessary to deal with the increased number of packages during the holidays. Nevertheless, it is a huge boost to last year’s numbers, when profit reached 71.6 million euro.

Turnover also dipped lower than expected in the fourth quarter. Analysts had expected 19.3 billion euro, but Amazon only managed 18.9 billion euro. For this fiscal year’s first quarter, Amazon expects a turnover between 13.4 and 14.7 billion euro, while analysts expect 14.5 billion euro.

Plans for a Kindle cash register system

Amazon also revealed it was planning a cash register system with Kindles, that should be available to American stores by the summer. It would give Amazon access to data from offline stores, where 90 % of trade still takes place. The big advantage for retailers is that Amazon already has payment information on some 230 million customers, which should facilitate things at the cash register.

Still, Amazon has little experience in physical retail, which may cause reticence with retailers. To convince the doubters,
Amazon is considering discounts and promotions through Amazon.com for all customers of participating retailers.