IT 100 Special Report 2006 >

  THE INFOTECH 100 COMPANIES
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23

Amazon.com

(NasdaqNM: AMZN)

USA

For a company that some folks predicted wouldn't even survive, Amazon.com has managed to prove it's a keeper. The leading online retailer posted a return on equity of 102.5% in the 12 months ended May 31. The reason: Amazon has managed to keep free cash flow high even as it has boosted technology spending, by 59% in the first quarter. Although the company said it expects R&D growth to decline, shareholders worry that rising competition from eBay, Google, and mainstream retailers could force Amazon to keep spending. As a result, its stock has dropped 27% since the start of the year.

Company Info

2005 Rank

Not Ranked

Sales*
($ Millions)

8,867.0

Sales Growth
(over prev. year)

22 %

Profits*
($ Millions)

332.0

Return on Equity

102.5 %

Total Return on Sales (12-mo.)

-2.5

Share Price
As of 5/31/06

34.61

CURRENT
MARKET INFO

NasdaqNM: AMZN

No. of Employees

12,000

Industry Internet Companies
COMPANY WEB SITE >
*Trailing 12 months
Stock price data as of 5/31/06
DATA: Standard & Poor's Compustat

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Company Snapshot

Amazon.com operates Web sites that sell various products and services, which primarily include apparel, shoes, and accessories; health and personal care; baby care products; books; camera and photography; and consumer electronics. The company and other sellers also offer various new, refurbished, and used items in categories such as health and personal care, jewelry and watches, gourmet food, sports and outdoors, apparel and accessories, books, music, digital video discs, electronics and office, toys and baby, and home and garden. These products are purchased from distributors, publishers, and manufacturers. The company and its affiliates operate seven retail Web sites: www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, and www.joyo.com. It also operates www.a9.com and www.alexa.com that enable search and navigation, and www.imdb.com, a movie database Web site. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Seattle.


Data provided by Capital IQ
 
Jeffrey P.Bezos

Jeffrey P.Bezos, 41

Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President

Total Compensation

$1,181,840

Princeton University?- BS

Jeffrey Bezos is a founder of Amazon.com and has been its chief executive officer since May, 1996; chairman since 1994; and president since October, 2000. Previously, Bezos served as president of Amazon.com from 1994 to June, 1999. Before starting Amazon.com, he helped build one of the most technically sophisticated quantitative hedge funds on Wall Street for D.E. Shaw. He also led the development of computer systems that helped manage more than $250 billion in assets for Bankers Trust. He has been a director of Amazon.com since 1994. He served as a director of Drugstore.com from August, 1998, to June, 2004. Bezos graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and computer science from Princeton University.



Executive Data provided by Capital IQ