Years of investments in warehouses and robots and data centres and gadgets—that have often tested investor patience—paid off big for Amazon over the holidays. Shoppers threw their money at the e-commerce giant, giving the company its strongest fourth-quarter sales growth in eight years and its most-profitable quarter ever. Amazon said its profit included a $789 million benefit as a result of the new US tax law. Prime also helps Amazon sell services to independent merchants who want access to the website’s most loyal and biggest-spending customers. Operating expenses in the quarter gained 37% to $58.3 billion—about the same pace as revenue growth.

Source: Mint February 02, 2018 07:07 UTC