(FILES) This file photo taken on December 28, 2016 shows the logo of US electronic commerce and cloud computing company Amazon in Vertou, France. Amazon said January 18, 2018 it had narrowed to 20 its options for a second headquarters for the sprawling technology and lifestyle company headed by Jeff Bezos, the world's richest individual. After 238 cities from North America submitted bids, Amazon announced its short list included three in the vicinity of the US capital Washington, and the Canadian city of Toronto. / AFP PHOTO / LOIC VENANCE
For more than two decades, Jeff Bezos has famously sacrificed profit for growth, persuading Wall Street that Amazon.com Inc was best served pouring money into the logistical nuts and bolts that have turned his company into the Wal-Mart of the Web.
More recently, investors have found solace in the company’s profitable cloud services business, which has helped offset losses in e-commerce. Still, for the past five years Amazon’s average profit margins have languished at about 1%.
