Thursday was the day when the share price of the world’s largest Internet retailer Amazon crossed the $2,000 mark for the first time. At a gain of 0.2 percent to $2,002.38, the stock then went out of trading on the Nasdaq. At just over $2,050, Amazon would be the second US company after Apple, whose market value exceeds the sound barrier of one trillion dollars. In the past five years alone, the stock has gained more than 700 percent.
On May 16, 1997, the Seattle-based company was listed for $18 a share. According to calculations of the financial portal “The Street” the issue price was adjusted for three share splits with only 1.96 dollar.
The success of the share goes hand in hand with the massive sales and earnings increases of recent years. Revenue rose from the end of 2013 ($74 billion) to nearly $178 billion by the end of last year. A small profit of $274 million in 2013 ballooned to more than $3.0 billion in 2017.
Bezos getting richer
Also for company founder Jeff Bezos yesterday’s trading day was worthwhile again. According to the daily updated “Bloomberg Billionaires Index” Bezos was risen by $338 million yesterday with the slight rise in prices alone. The news agency puts his total assets at $165 billion.
In Germany too, the Group is increasingly trying to persuade its customers to get a chargeable “Prime” subscription. This will provide customers with shipping benefits at no additional cost, including a music, movie and series streaming service, ebooks, and a digital photo storage service. Many Prime customers may find it difficult to break away from this grip once they get used to the services.
The strategy of the group from Seattle is clear. They want to build the highest possible customer loyalty and make people as possible regular customers.
Eyes on China
Even though Amazon’s share of the German online shopping market is now expected to be more than half, the market position is far from secure in the longer term. Because the large Chinese companies Alibaba and Tencent with the stake in the online retailer JD.Com are pushing for the European market.
