Amazon Posts Record $3 Billion in Profit as Advertising Revenue Takes Huge Jump Up

Amazon closed 2018 with a record $3 billion in profit in the fourth quarter, showing that the world's biggest web retailer can maintain rapid growth while improving profitability and fending off online competition from rivals like Walmart Inc.Advertising also was a key moneymaker, highlighting Amazon's ability to charge brands and merchants for visibility to its 100 million-plus loyal Prime subscribers, who pay fees in exchange for delivery discounts, movie and music streaming and other perks. Overall revenue rose 20 percent, and the company's "other" revenue category, which is mostly advertising, grew 95 percent to $3.39 billion in the quarter.Shoppers will spend $484 billion globally on Amazon this year, up 26 percent from 2018, and the Seattle-based company will capture more than half of all online spending in the U.S., according to EMarketer Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos has been pushing beyond the low-margin business of selling goods online into more profitable categories like cloud computing and advertising. Those profits also help fuel Amazon's growing devices business, which includes smart-home and connected-car gadgets that operate on Amazon's voice-activated Alexa platform.  Continue reading...