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Insights: Amazon

[MUSIC PLAYING] Introducing Echo Frames, eyeglasses that let you take Alexa with you. Alexa, good morning. Good morning. Your next event is coffee with Rebecca at 9 AM. Echo frames direct sounds straight to your ears so you can discreetly hear Alexa. And with no cameras or displays, you're free to see the world around you. They work with your phone and are controlled by your voice, helping you get things done without getting in your way. Alexa, call Jamie. Got the raspberries? They're on the way. Perfect. Echo frames are designed around your privacy. You can turn off the microphone anytime. 

Insights: A Look at Amazon Echo Frames

Uncategorized

Smart glasses that bring Alexa to your face.

A Look at Amazon Echo Frames

Smart glasses that bring Alexa to your face. (September 2019)

introducing echo frames. Eyeglasses that let you take Alexa with Alexa. Good morning. Good morning. Your next event is coffee with Rebecca at 9 a.m. Echo frames direct sound straight to your ears so you could discreetly here, Alexa. And with no cameras or displays, you're free to see the world around you. They work with your phone and are controlled by your voice, helping you get things done without getting in your way. Alexa called Jamie. I got the rest. They're on the way. Deco frames are designed around your private. You can turn off the microphone anytime.

 Today, we're discussing Amazon, the online retail giant known for aggressively tackling new markets. Right now, rumors are swirling that Amazon might get into the banking industry. Lisa Marie, is Amazon overextending itself? And also, do banks have anything to be afraid of? Banks should absolutely be afraid. It's easy to say that Amazon is overextending itself, but Amazon actually started as a way for people to buy books-- and only books-- online. And now, look at where it is. So this growth is something that Amazon does very often and it does well. I would counter that and say, if you look at a lot of the markets that Amazon has entered, they haven't really displaced a lot of the competition there. I'll give you publishing. Amazon has totally dominated that market. But if you look at other things, like, for instance, the digital ad market, which is quickly growing for Amazon. It's become the third biggest in terms of how many ads it sells. But Google and Facebook really are the duopoly there. They totally control things. And Amazon does not pose a threat to them. I say the same thing is going to go for banking. It's easy to say that, but if you look at retail, for instance, an area that they started expanding into much earlier, they really have changed the whole space of it. You see brick and mortar stores going down all the time. I mean, they bought Whole Foods. Exactly. But I would say a lot of the grocery industry is doing just fine as well. Amazon controls less than 2% of it, even with the Whole Foods buy. 

Insights: Is Amazon Moving Into Too Many Areas?

The online giant may soon enter the banking space.

Is Amazon Moving Into Too Many Areas?

The online giant may soon enter the banking space. (September 2018)

they were discussing Amazon, the online retail giant known for aggressively tackling new markets. Right now, rumors are swirling that Amazon might get into the banking industry with Marie. Is Amazon overextending itself? And also do banks have anything to be afraid of? Banks should absolutely be afraid. You know, it's easy to say that Amazon is overextending itself. But you know, Amazon actually started as a way for people to buy books and on Lee books online. And now look at where it is. So this growth is something that Amazon does very often, and it does well. I would counter that and say, If you look at a lot of the markets that Amazon has entered, they haven't really displaced a lot of competition there. I'll give you publishing. You know, Amazon has totally dominated that market. But if you look at other things like, for instance, the digital ad market, which is quickly growing for Amazon, it's become the third biggest, uh, you know, in terms of how many ads itself. But Google and Facebook really are the duopoly there. They totally control things, and Amazon does not pose a threat to them. I said the same thing is gonna go for banking. You know, it's easy to say that, but if you look at retail, for instance, own area that they started expanding into much earlier, they really have changed the whole face of it. You know, brick and mortar stores going down all the time. I mean, they bought whole foods. Exactly. But, you know, I would say a lot of the grocery industry is doing just fine as well. You know, Amazon controls less than 2% of it, even with the whole foods by.

 Amazon nearly doubled its US profits in 2018 to more than $11 billion. Guess how much of that it paid in federal income taxes-- zero. In fact, it received a federal income tax refund. That's according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a Washington DC-based think tank which notes that companies like Amazon have for years found ways to pay little to no taxes. But Amazon's tax bill for 2018 raises the question, how? A couple of important things to note. One, we don't know for sure how much Amazon is going to pay in its 2018 income taxes. You'll need the tax returns to actually know that. And all this information comes from the company's public SEC filings. It's also important to note that Amazon did pay state and international taxes. And whatever methods it's using to reduce its income tax burden are legal. So as we know, last year, Amazon reported more than $11 billion in US profits. Also, last year was the first year that new tax laws came into effect, meaning that the corporate tax rate was cut from 35% to 21%. So in theory, the amount that Amazon should have paid in federal income tax is somewhere around $2.3 billion dollars, just like most of US. Companies seldom, if ever, end up paying the full amount that they're on the hook for. Here are at least three ways by which Amazon was likely able to reduce its income tax burden for 2018. The biggest item appears to be related to stock-based employee compensation. That's nearly $1.1 billion that Amazon was able to deduct from its federal income taxes related to the stock options that it provides its employees. Like a lot of companies these days, Amazon pays its employees, at least a portion of their salaries, in stock instead of traditional compensation. When employees activate their stock options, Amazon then is able to deduct that from its federal income tax bill. This year, nearly $1.1 billion. And then there's $565 million in deferred income taxes. Now, Amazon's SEC filings are short on specifics but presumably, these are income taxes that the company will have to pay at some point but not this year. The company also claimed $419 million in tax credits this year, and this is where tax reform comes into play. Under the 2017 Tax Reform Law, Amazon is able to immediately expense 100% of its capital investments in things like equipment, whether it's machinery in its fulfillment centers or its web servers. That has helped contribute to its lower tax bill. And then there are a whole array of items that we're not sure of but which we can assume that Amazon is using to reduce its income tax burden this year. That includes up to $1.4 billion in federal income tax credits that have carried over from years past. This is really primarily to research and development. There's also up to $627 million in net loss carryovers. These are net losses from years past that the company is now able to claim to help reduce its income tax burden. Amazon, of course, would point to its positive impact on the US economy. That includes 250,000 people employed across the US, hundreds of billions of dollars that it spent in growing its business, as well as billions of dollars in taxes that it has admittedly paid across the country and around the world. Still, that won't assuage critics who are irked that the company received a $129 million income tax refund from the US government this year instead of paying a single cent in federal taxes. 

Insights: How Amazon Turns $11 Billion In Profits into Zero Federal Taxes

Amazon is unlikely to pay federal income tax for 2018.

Amazon Turns $11 Billion In Profits into Zero Federal Taxes

Amazon is unlikely to pay federal income tax for 2018. Here's how. (February 2019)

Amazon nearly doubled its US profits. 2018 more than $11 billion. Guess how much that it paid in federal income tax zero. In fact, it received a federal income tax refund. That's according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Washington D. C. Based think tank, which knows that companies like Amazon have for years found ways to pay little to no taxes on Amazon. Taxable for 2018 raises the question. How a couple of important things to note one. We don't know for sure how much Amazon independent 2018 income taxes you need. The tax returns actually know that, and all this information comes from the company's public SEC filings. It's important to note that Amazon didn't pay state and international taxes, and whatever methods using to reduce its income tax burden are legal. So as we know, last year, Amazon reported more than $11 billion in US Also, last year was the first year that new tax laws came into effect mean that the corporate tax rate was cut from 35% to 21. So in theory, the amount that Amazon should have paid in federal income tax is somewhere around $2.3 billion just like most of US company seldom, if ever, and that paying the full amount that they're on the hook for here. At least three ways by which Amazon was likely able to reduce income tax burden for 2018 the biggest item appears to be related to stock based employee compensation. That's nearly $1.1 billion the Amazon was able to deduct from federal income taxes to the stock options that it provides employees. Like a lot of companies these days, Amazon pays its employees at least a portion of their salaries in stock instead of traditional compensation. When employees activated stock options and was on then is able to deduct that from federal income tax bill here nearly $1.1 billion. And then there's $565 million in deferred income taxes. Now, Amazon filings are short on specifics, presumably during contacted, the company will have to pay at some point, but not this year. The company also claimed $419 million in tax cuts here, and this is where tax reform comes into play under the 2017 tax reform law and was able to immediately expense 100% of its capital investments and things like equipment, whether it's machinery in its fulfillment centers or its Web servers that helped contribute to lower taxes. And then there are a whole array of items that were not sure of but which we can assume, that Amazon is using to reduce income tax burden. This year, that includes upto $1.4 billion in federal income tax credits have carried over from years past. These relate primarily the research and development is also up. $627 million in net loss carry over. You know that losses from years past, the company is now able to claim to help reduce income tax burden. Amazon, of course, would point to its positive impact on the U. S economy. That includes 250,000 people employed across the U. S 100 doings of dollars spent in growing. It's business well as billions of dollars in tax that it has really paid across the country and around the world. Still, that one, which critics who are hurting the company received a $129 million income tax refund from the U. S government is here. Instead of paying a single cent federal tax

Insights: Amazon Prime Day 2019 By the Numbers

Retail

It was the company’s best Prime Day yet.

Amazon Prime Day 2019 By the Numbers

It was the company’s best Prime Day yet. (July 2019)

 If you want to be an entrepreneur, the most important thing is to be customer-obsessed. So don't satisfy your customers. Figure out how to absolutely delight them. That is the number one thing, whoever your customers are. Passion-- you have got to have some passion for the arena that you're going to develop and work in, because otherwise, you're going to be competing against people who do have passion for that. And they're going to build better products and services. You can't be a mercenary. You have to be a missionary. Missionaries build better products and services. They always win. The mercenaries are just trying to make money. And paradoxically, the missionaries always end up making more money. You have to pick something that you actually have a genuine passion for. You have to take risk. You have to be willing to take risk. If you aren't going to take risk, if you come up with the business idea, there's no risk there, you're probably-- it's probably already being done. Those ideas are already being done. They're being done well by many, many people. So you've got to have something that might not work. And so you have to accept that your business is going to be, in many ways, an experiment and it might fail. And that's OK. That's what risk is. The good news is-- and at Amazon, we still take risks all the time and we encourage it and we talk about failure. We should be failing. Our failures have to grow with the company. We need big failures if we're going to be moving the needle. We need to have billion dollar scale failures. And if we're not, we're not swinging hard enough. 

Insights: Jeff Bezos’ Tips for Being an Entrepreneur

Jeff Bezos’ Tips for Being an Entrepreneur

He spoke at the 2019 re:MARS conference. (June 2019)

If you want to be an entrepreneur, the most important thing is to be customer obsessed. So don't satisfy your customers. Figure out howto absolutely delight them. That is the number one thing. Whoever your customers are passion, you have got to have compassion for the arena that you're going to develop and work in because otherwise you're gonna be competing against people who do have compassion for that and they're gonna build better products. And service is you can't be a mercenary. You have to be a missionary. Missionaries build better products, and service is they always win. The mercenaries were just trying to make money, and paradoxically, the missionaries always end up making more money to pick something that you actually have a genuine passion for. You have to take risk. You have to be willing to take risk if you aren't gonna take risk. If you come for the business ideo there's there's no risk there. You're probably, you know, it's probably already being done. Those ideas already being done there being done well by many, many people. So you gotta have something that might not work. And so you have to accept that your business is going to be, in many ways, an experiment and it might fail and that's OK. That's what risk is. The good news is it Amazon will still take risks all the time and we encourage it. We talk about failure. We should be filling. Our failures have to grow with the company. We need big failures. If we're gonna be moving the needle, we need to have a $1,000,000,000 scale failures. And if we're not, we're not swinging. We're not swinging hard enough.

Insights: Amazon

Insights: A Look at Amazon Echo Frames

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Smart glasses that bring Alexa to your face. (September 2019)

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Insights: A Look at Amazon Echo Frames

Insights: Is Amazon Moving Into Too Many Areas?

Insights: How Amazon Turns $11 Billion In Profits into Zero Federal Taxes

Insights: Amazon Prime Day 2019 By the Numbers

Insights: Jeff Bezos’ Tips for Being an Entrepreneur