Is Amazon in a Strong or Weak Financial Position?

Amazon has been a major force in the e-commerce and cloud computing industries ever since its inception in 1994. Over the years, Amazon has grown to become one of the most valuable companies in the world, with a market capitalization of over $1.5 trillion at the time of writing. This makes it one of the most successful companies ever, and it is no surprise that investors are closely watching how Amazon performs financially.

Amazon’s financials have been incredibly strong for some time now. The company reported record revenue for 2019, totaling over $280 billion, up from $232 billion in 2018.

Operating income was up significantly as well to nearly $14 billion from about $12 billion in 2018. This increase was driven by strong growth in Amazon Web Services (AWS), which reported revenue growth of 34% year-over-year. AWS is also highly profitable and accounts for much of Amazon’s operating income.

In addition to AWS, Amazon’s retail business has also been performing very well. The company reported net sales of $141 billion for 2019, up 20% from 2018 levels. This was driven by continued growth in both online sales and physical stores such as Whole Foods Market.

Amazon also has a very strong balance sheet with nearly $27 billion in cash and short-term investments at the end of 2019. This gives it plenty of financial flexibility to continue investing heavily into new areas such as AI and robotics or make strategic acquisitions if needed.

Conclusion:

Based on its strong financial performance and robust balance sheet, it is clear that Amazon is currently in a very strong financial position.