SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr. 23, 2009-- Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) today announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2009.

Operating cash flow was $1.76 billion for the trailing twelve months, compared with $1.04 billion for the trailing twelve months ended March 31, 2008. Free cash flow increased 82% to $1.43 billion for the trailing twelve months, compared with $0.79 billion for the trailing twelve months ended March 31, 2008.

Common shares outstanding plus shares underlying stock-based awards outstanding totaled 447 million on March 31, 2009, compared with 435 million a year ago.

Net sales increased 18% to $4.89 billion in the first quarter, compared with $4.13 billion in first quarter 2008. Excluding the $268 million unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, net sales would have grown 25% compared with first quarter 2008.

Operating income increased 23% to $244 million in the first quarter, compared with $198 million in first quarter 2008. Excluding the $32 million unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, operating income would have grown 39% compared with first quarter 2008.

Net income increased 24% to $177 million in the first quarter, or $0.41 per diluted share, compared with net income of $143 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, in first quarter 2008.

“We’re grateful and excited that Kindle sales have exceeded our most optimistic expectations,” said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com.

Highlights

  • Amazon.com introduced Kindle 2, the new reading device that offers Kindle’s revolutionary wireless delivery of content in a new slim design with longer battery life, faster page turns, a crisper display, and over seven times more storage. The Kindle Store offers more than 270,000 books, including 104 of 112 New York Times Best Sellers, plus top U.S. and international newspapers and magazines.
  • The Company launched “Kindle for iPhone and iPod touch,” a free application that allows customers to enjoy Kindle titles on the iPhone and iPod touch. Amazon’s Whispersync technology saves and synchronizes customers’ bookmarks across their original Kindle, Kindle 2, iPhone and iPod touch.
  • Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced the public beta of Amazon Elastic MapReduce. Utilizing a hosted Hadoop framework, this new service enables businesses, researchers, data analysts and developers to easily and cost-effectively process vast amounts of data using Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) and Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3).
  • AWS introduced Reserved Instances, an additional pricing option for Amazon EC2 that gives developers the opportunity to make a low, one-time payment to reserve capacity and further reduce hourly usage charges.
  • AWS and IBM announced a relationship that will allow developers to run some of IBM’s most popular software on top of Amazon EC2. Customers can pay by the hour for the software, bring their own existing licenses with no additional software fee, or use free versions in the cloud for development and test purposes.
  • North America segment sales, representing the Company’s U.S. and Canadian sites, were $2.58 billion, up 21% from first quarter 2008.
  • International segment sales, representing the Company’s U.K., German, Japanese, French and Chinese sites, were $2.31 billion, up 15% from first quarter 2008. Excluding the unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, International sales grew 28%.
  • Worldwide Media sales grew 7% to $2.72 billion, compared with $2.54 billion in first quarter 2008.
  • Worldwide Electronics & Other General Merchandise sales grew 38% to $2.05 billion, compared with $1.48 billion in first quarter 2008, and increased to 42% of worldwide net sales compared with 36%.
  • Items shipped on behalf of sellers who utilized Fulfillment by Amazon increased by more than 300% from the prior year.
  • The Company launched its latest mobile application, “Amazon App for BlackBerry.” Available for free download on any BlackBerry with a track ball, the application offers customers a quick and simple way to find, discover and buy products on Amazon.com.
  • Amazon launched its MP3 music service in Germany, offering more than 5 million DRM-free songs from all four major labels and hundreds of independent labels that can be played on any MP3 player.
  • Amazon.com’s Video Game store beta-launched the Amazon Video Games Trade-In service, allowing customers to receive an Amazon.com Gift Card in exchange for eligible video games.

Financial Guidance

The following forward-looking statements reflect Amazon.com’s expectations as of April 23, 2009. Our results are inherently unpredictable and may be materially affected by many factors, such as fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, changes in global economic conditions and consumer spending, world events, the rate of growth of the Internet and online commerce and the various factors detailed below.

Second Quarter 2009 Guidance

  • Net sales are expected to be between $4.30 billion and $4.75 billion, or to grow between 6% and 17% compared with second quarter 2008.
  • Operating income is expected to be between $110 million and $190 million, or decline between 49% and 12% compared with second quarter 2008. The second quarter 2008 results include the $53 million non-cash gain recognized on the sale of the Company’s European DVD rental assets.
  • This guidance includes approximately $90 million for stock-based compensation and amortization of intangible assets, and it assumes, among other things, that no additional business acquisitions or investments are concluded and that there are no further revisions to stock-based compensation estimates.

A conference call will be webcast live today at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET, and will be available for at least three months at www.amazon.com/ir. This call will contain forward-looking statements and other material information regarding the Company’s financial and operating results.

These forward-looking statements are inherently difficult to predict. Actual results could differ materially for a variety of reasons, including, in addition to the factors discussed above, the amount that Amazon.com invests in new business opportunities and the timing of those investments, the mix of products sold to customers, the mix of net sales derived from products as compared with services, the extent to which we owe income taxes, competition, management of growth, potential fluctuations in operating results, international growth and expansion, the outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, risks of inventory management, seasonality, the degree to which the Company enters into, maintains and develops commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, and risks of fulfillment throughput and productivity. Other risks and uncertainties include, among others, risks related to new products, services and technologies, system interruptions, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. In addition, the current global economic climate amplifies many of these risks. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com’s financial results is included in Amazon.com’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Computers & Office; Electronics; Home & Garden; Grocery, Health & Beauty; Toys, Kids & Baby; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial.

Amazon Web Services provides Amazon’s developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon’s own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Examples of the services offered by Amazon Web Services are Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), Amazon Elastic Block Store, Amazon SimpleDB, Amazon Simple Queue Service (Amazon SQS), Amazon Flexible Payments Service (Amazon FPS), Amazon Mechanical Turk and Amazon CloudFront.

Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.comwww.amazon.co.ukwww.amazon.dewww.amazon.co.jpwww.amazon.frwww.amazon.ca, and www.amazon.cn.

As used herein, “Amazon.com,” “we,” “our” and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

 
AMAZON.COM, INC.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(in millions)
(unaudited)
         
  Three Months 

Twelve Months

  Ended 

Ended

  March 31, March 31,
   2009   2008   2009   2008 
         
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, BEGINNING OF PERIOD $2,769 

 

$2,539  $1,496  $748 
         
OPERATING ACTIVITIES:        
Net income  177   143   679   508 

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash from operating activities:

        

Depreciation of fixed assets, including internal-use software and website development, and other amortization

  87   65   309   249 
Stock-based compensation  67   54   288   205 
Other operating expense (income), net  11   6   (19)  15 
Gains on sales of marketable securities, net  (2)  (3)  (1)  (3)
Other expense (income), net  2   (1)  (30)  7 
Deferred income taxes  -   (19)  14   (119)
Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation  (49)  (64)  (145)  (297)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:        
Inventories  107   148   (273)  (281)
Accounts receivable, net and other  167   139   (190)  (182)
Accounts payable  (1,129)  (1,003)  686   528 
Accrued expenses and other  (122)  (125)  249   362 
Additions to unearned revenue  206   79   576   277 
Amortization of previously unearned revenue  (107)  (64)  (386)  (230)
Net cash provided by (used in) by operating activities  (585)  (645)  1,757   1,039 
         
INVESTING ACTIVITIES:        

Purchases of fixed assets, including internal-use software and website development

  (55)  (61)  (326)  (251)
Acquisitions, net of cash acquired, and other  (15)  (355)  (155)  (430)
Sales and maturities of marketable securities and other investments  314   271   1,348   758 
Purchases of marketable securities and other investments  (391)  (382)  (1,686)  (798)
Net cash used in investing activities  (147)  (527)  (819)  (721)
         
FINANCING ACTIVITIES:        
Proceeds from exercises of stock options  3   2   12   85 
Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation  49   64   145   297 
Common stock repurchased  -   -   (100)  - 
Proceeds from long-term debt and other  -   52   36   76 
Repayments of long-term debt and capital lease obligations  (343)  (26)  (673)  (83)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities  (291)  92   (580)  375 
         
Foreign-currency effect on cash and cash equivalents  (45)  37   (153)  55 
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents  (1,068)  (1,043)  205   748 
         
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, END OF PERIOD $1,701  $1,496  $1,701  $1,496 
         
SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMATION:        
Cash paid for interest $26  $46  $43  $70 
Cash paid for income taxes  11   8   57   28 
Fixed assets acquired under capital leases and other financing arrangements  18   15   150   78 
Fixed assets acquired under build-to-suit leases  56   4   125   19 
Conversion of debt  -   -   605   1 
 
AMAZON.COM, INC.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in millions, except per share data)
(unaudited)
     
  Three Months Ended
  March 31,
   2009   2008 
     
Net sales $4,889  $4,135 
Cost of sales  3,741   3,179 
Gross profit  1,148   956 
     
Operating expenses (1):    
Fulfillment  422   354 
Marketing  128   103 
Technology and content  275   234 
General and administrative  68   61 
Other operating expense, net  11   6 
Total operating expenses  904   758 
     
Income from operations  244   198 
     
Interest income  12   26 
Interest expense  (12)  (22)
Other income, net  4   5 
Total non-operating income  4   9 
     
Income before income taxes  248   207 
     
Provision for income taxes  (69)  (62)
Equity-method investment activity, net of tax  (2)  (2)
Net income $177  $143 
     
Basic earnings per share $0.41  $0.34 
     
Diluted earnings per share $0.41  $0.34 
     
     
Weighted average shares used in computation of earnings per share:    
Basic  429   417 
Diluted  437   426 
__________________________    
(1) Includes stock-based compensation as follows:    
Fulfillment $15  $11 
Marketing  4   2 
Technology and content  36   31 
General and administrative  12   10 
 
AMAZON.COM, INC.
Segment Information
(in millions)
(unaudited)
   
  

Three Months Ended

  March 31,
   2009   2008 
North America    
Net sales $2,578  $2,126 
Cost of sales  1,884   1,557 
Gross profit  694   569 
Direct segment operating expenses (1)  544   439 

Segment operating income

 $150  $130 
     
International    
Net sales $2,311  $2,009 
Cost of sales  1,857   1,622 
Gross profit  454   387 
Direct segment operating expenses (1)  282   259 
Segment operating income $172  $128 
     
Consolidated    
Net sales $4,889  $4,135 
Cost of sales  3,741   3,179 
Gross profit  1,148   956 
Direct segment operating expenses  826   698 
Segment operating income  322   258 
Stock-based compensation  (67)  (54)
Other operating expense, net  (11)  (6)
Income from operations  244   198 
Total non-operating income, net  4   9 
Provision for income taxes  (69)  (62)
Equity-method investment activity, net of tax  (2)  (2)

Net income

 $177  $143 
     
Segment Highlights:    
Y/Y net sales growth:    
North America  21%  31%
International  15   44 
Consolidated  18   37 
Y/Y gross profit growth:    
North America  22%  29%
International  17   38 
Consolidated  20   33 
Y/Y segment operating income growth:    
North America  15%  52%
International  34   36 
Consolidated  25   44 
Net sales mix:    
North America  53%  51%
International  47   49 
__________________________    

(1) A significant majority of our costs for "Technology and content" are incurred in the United States and most of these costs are allocated to our North America segment.

 
AMAZON.COM, INC.
Supplemental Net Sales Information
(in millions)
(unaudited)
     
  Three Months Ended
  March 31,
   2009   2008 
North America    
Media $1,305  $1,205 
Electronics and other general merchandise  1,172   826 
Other  101   95 

Total North America

  2,578   2,126 
     
International    
Media  1,418   1,338 
Electronics and other general merchandise  874   655 
Other  19   16 
Total International  2,311   2,009 
     
Consolidated    
Media  2,723   2,543 
Electronics and other general merchandise  2,046   1,481 
Other  120   111 
Total Consolidated $4,889  $4,135 
     
Y/Y Net Sales Growth:    
North America:    
Media  8%  22%
Electronics and other general merchandise  42   46 
Other  7   40 
Total North America  21   31 
     
International:    
Media  6%  34%
Electronics and other general merchandise  34   71 
Other  14   58 
Total International  15   44 
     
Consolidated:    
Media  7%  28%
Electronics and other general merchandise  38   56 
Other  8   43 
Total Consolidated  18   37 
     
Y/Y Net Sales Growth Excluding Effect of Exchange Rates:    
International:    
Media  17%  22%
Electronics and other general merchandise  50   56 
Other  40   47 
Total International  28   31 
     
Consolidated:    
Media  13%  21%
Electronics and other general merchandise  46   50 
Other  11   41 
Total Consolidated  25   31 
     
Consolidated Net Sales Mix:    
Media  56%  61%
Electronics and other general merchandise  42   36 
Other  2   3 
 
AMAZON.COM, INC.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in millions, except per share data)
     
  March 31, December 31,
   2009   2008 
ASSETS (unaudited)  
Current assets:    
Cash and cash equivalents $1,701  $2,769 
Marketable securities  1,029   958 
Inventories  1,266   1,399 
Accounts receivable, net and other  587   827 
Deferred tax assets  192   204 
Total current assets  4,775   6,157 
Fixed assets, net  889   854 
Deferred tax assets  118   145 
Goodwill  433   438 
Other assets  765   720 
Total assets $6,980  $8,314 
     
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY    
Current liabilities:    
Accounts payable $2,380  $3,594 
Accrued expenses and other  1,030   1,152 
Total current liabilities  3,410   4,746 
Long-term debt  74   409 
Other long-term liabilities  578   487 
     
Commitments and contingencies    
     
Stockholders' equity:    
Preferred stock, $0.01 par value:    
Authorized shares -- 500    
Issued and outstanding shares -- none  -   - 
Common stock, $0.01 par value:    
Authorized shares -- 5,000    
Issued shares -- 446 and 445    
Outstanding shares -- 429 and 428  4   4 
Treasury stock, at cost  (600)  (600)
Additional paid-in capital  4,210   4,121 

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

  (143)  (123)
Accumulated deficit  (553)  (730)
Total stockholders' equity  2,918   2,672 
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $6,980  $8,314 
 

AMAZON.COM, INC.

Supplemental Financial Information and Business Metrics
(in millions, except per share data)
(unaudited)
 
            Y/Y %
  Q1 2008 Q2 2008 Q3 2008 Q4 2008 Q1 2009 Change
Cash Flows and Shares            
             
Operating cash flow -- trailing twelve months (TTM) $1,039  $1,088  $1,275  $1,697  $1,757  69%
             
Purchases of fixed assets (incl. internal-use software & website development) -- TTM $251  $272  $305  $333  $326  30%
             
Free cash flow (operating cash flow less purchases of fixed assets) -- TTM $788  $816  $970  $1,364  $1,431  82%
Free cash flow -- TTM Y/Y growth  51%  16%  21%  16%  82% N/A 
             
Common shares and stock-based awards outstanding  435   446   448   446   447  3%
Common shares outstanding  417   426   429   428   429  3%
Stock-based awards outstanding  18   20   19   18   17  (5%)
Stock-based awards outstanding -- % of common shares outstanding  4.3%  4.6%  4.5%  4.2%  4.0% N/A 
             
Results of Operations            
             
Worldwide (WW) net sales $4,135  $4,063  $4,264  $6,704  $4,889  18%
WW net sales -- Y/Y growth, excluding F/X  31%  35%  28%  24%  25% N/A 
WW net sales -- TTM $15,955  $17,133  $18,135  $19,166  $19,921  25%
WW net sales -- TTM Y/Y growth, excluding F/X  35%  35%  33%  28%  27% N/A 
             
Gross profit $956  $967  $999  $1,348  $1,148  20%
Gross profit -- Y/Y growth, excluding F/X  28%  32%  29%  20%  27% N/A 
Gross margin -- % of WW net sales  23.1%  23.8%  23.4%  20.1%  23.5% N/A 
Gross profit -- TTM $3,589  $3,855  $4,092  $4,270  $4,462  24%
Gross profit -- TTM Y/Y growth, excluding F/X  33%  32%  31%  26%  26% N/A 
Gross margin -- TTM % of WW net sales  22.5%  22.5%  22.6%  22.3%  22.4% N/A 
             
Operating income (1) $198  $217  $154  $272  $244  23%
Operating margin -- % of WW net sales  4.8%  5.3%  3.6%  4.1%  5.0% N/A 
Operating income -- TTM (1) $708  $808  $840  $842  $887  25%
Operating income -- TTM Y/Y growth, excluding F/X  57%  52%  36%  27%  30% N/A 
Operating margin -- TTM % of WW net sales  4.4%  4.7%  4.6%  4.4%  4.5% N/A 
             
Net income (1) $143  $158  $118  $225  $177  24%
Net income per diluted share $0.34  $0.37  $0.27  $0.52  $0.41  21%
Net income -- TTM (1) $508  $588  $627  $645  $679  34%
Net income per diluted share -- TTM $1.20  $1.38  $1.46  $1.49  $1.56  31%
             
Segments            
             
North America Segment:            
Net sales $2,126  $2,168  $2,302  $3,631  $2,578  21%
Net sales -- Y/Y growth, excluding F/X  31%  35%  29%  18%  22% N/A 
Net sales -- TTM $8,598  $9,166  $9,680  $10,228  $10,681  24%
Gross profit $569  $559  $586  $781  $694  22%
Gross margin -- % of North America net sales  26.7%  25.8%  25.5%  21.5%  26.9% N/A 
Gross profit -- TTM $2,160  $2,286  $2,412  $2,495  $2,620  21%
Gross margin -- TTM % of North America net sales  25.1%  24.9%  24.9%  24.4%  24.5% N/A 
Operating income $130  $96  $88  $130  $150  15%
Operating margin -- % of North America net sales  6.1%  4.4%  3.8%  3.6%  5.8% N/A 
Operating income -- TTM $445  $458  $468  $445  $464  4%
Operating income -- TTM Y/Y growth, excluding F/X  74%  46%  26%  11%  5% N/A 
Operating margin -- TTM % of North America net sales  5.2%  5.0%  4.8%  4.4%  4.4% N/A 
             
International Segment:            
Net sales $2,009  $1,895  $1,962  $3,073  $2,311  15%
Net sales -- Y/Y growth, excluding F/X  31%  34%  28%  31%  28% N/A 
Net sales -- TTM $7,357  $7,967  $8,455  $8,938  $9,240  26%
Net sales -- TTM % of WW net sales  46%  47%  47%  47%  46% N/A 
Gross profit $387  $408  $413  $567  $454  17%
Gross margin -- % of International net sales  19.3%  21.5%  21.1%  18.5%  19.6% N/A 
Gross profit -- TTM $1,430  $1,569  $1,680  $1,775  $1,842  29%
Gross margin -- TTM % of International net sales  19.4%  19.7%  19.9%  19.9%  19.9% N/A 
Operating income $128  $149  $143  $229  $172  34%
Operating margin -- % of International net sales  6.4%  7.9%  7.3%  7.4%  7.4% N/A 
Operating income -- TTM $483  $550  $594  $648  $692  43%
Operating income -- TTM Y/Y growth, excluding F/X  44%  47%  41%  42%  52% N/A 
Operating margin -- TTM % of International net sales  6.6%  6.9%  7.0%  7.3%  7.5% N/A 
             
AMAZON.COM, INC.
Supplemental Financial Information and Business Metrics
(in millions, except inventory turnover, accounts payable days and employee data)
(unaudited)
             
            Y/Y %
  Q1 2008 Q2 2008 Q3 2008 Q4 2008 Q1 2009 Change
Segments (continued)            
             
Consolidated Segments:            
Operating expenses $698  $722  $768  $989  $826  18%
Operating expenses -- TTM $2,661  $2,847  $3,030  $3,177  $3,306  24%
Operating income $258  $245  $231  $359  $322  25%
Operating margin -- % of consolidated sales  6.2%  6.0%  5.4%  5.4%  6.6% N/A 
Operating income -- TTM $928  $1,008  $1,062  $1,093  $1,156  25%
Operating income -- TTM Y/Y growth, excluding F/X  59%  49%  35%  28%  28% N/A 
Operating margin -- TTM % of consolidated net sales  5.8%  5.9%  5.9%  5.7%  5.8% N/A 
             
Supplemental North America Segment Net Sales:            
Media $1,205  $1,148  $1,245  $1,751  $1,305  8%
Media -- Y/Y growth, excluding F/X  21%  24%  15%  8%  9% N/A 
Media -- TTM $4,845  $5,071  $5,235  $5,350  $5,450  12%
Electronics and other general merchandise $826  $920  $950  $1,733  $1,172  42%
Electronics and other general merchandise -- Y/Y growth, excluding F/X  46%  52%  51%  30%  42% N/A 
Electronics and other general merchandise -- TTM $3,400  $3,714  $4,033  $4,430  $4,776  40%
Electronics and other general merchandise -- TTM % of North America net sales  40%  41%  42%  43%  45% N/A 
Other $95  $100  $107  $147  $101  7%
Other -- TTM $353  $381  $412  $448  $455  29%
             
Supplemental International Segment Net Sales:            
Media $1,338  $1,258  $1,249  $1,889  $1,418  6%
Media -- Y/Y growth, excluding F/X  22%  25%  18%  22%  17% N/A 
Media -- TTM $4,950  $5,299  $5,537  $5,734  $5,814  17%
Electronics and other general merchandise $655  $611  $690  $1,156  $874  34%
Electronics and other general merchandise -- Y/Y growth, excluding F/X  56%  52%  48%  46%  50% N/A 
Electronics and other general merchandise -- TTM $2,344  $2,590  $2,832  $3,110  $3,330  42%
Electronics and other general merchandise -- TTM % of International net sales  32%  33%  33%  35%  36% N/A 
Other $16  $26  $23  $28  $19  14%
Other -- TTM $63  $78  $86  $94  $96  53%
             
Supplemental Worldwide Net Sales:            
Media $2,543  $2,406  $2,494  $3,640  $2,723  7%
Media -- Y/Y growth, excluding F/X  21%  25%  17%  15%  13% N/A 
Media -- TTM $9,795  $10,370  $10,772  $11,084  $11,264  15%
Electronics and other general merchandise $1,481  $1,531  $1,640  $2,889  $2,046  38%
Electronics and other general merchandise -- Y/Y growth, excluding F/X  50%  52%  49%  36%  46% N/A 
Electronics and other general merchandise -- TTM $5,744  $6,304  $6,865  $7,540  $8,106  41%
Electronics and other general merchandise -- TTM % of WW net sales  36%  37%  38%  39%  41% N/A 
Other $111  $126  $130  $175  $120  8%
Other -- TTM $416  $459  $498  $542  $551  32%
             
Balance Sheet            
             
Cash and marketable securities (2) $2,395  $2,625  $2,572  $4,035  $3,025  26%
             
Inventory, net -- ending $1,077  $1,107  $1,315  $1,399  $1,266  18%
Inventory -- average inventory % of TTM net sales  5.9%  5.9%  6.3%  6.4%  6.2% N/A 
Inventory turnover, average -- TTM  13.1   13.0   12.4   12.2   12.5  (4%)
             
Fixed assets, net $594  $651  $731  $854  $889  50%
             
Accounts payable days -- ending  53   58   63   62   57  7%
             
Other            
             
WW shipping revenue $192  $186  $191  $266  $190  (1%)
WW shipping costs $321  $314  $323  $508  $358  12%
WW net shipping costs $128  $128  $132  $242  $168  31%
WW net shipping costs -- % of WW net sales  3.1%  3.2%  3.1%  3.6%  3.4% N/A 
             
Employees (full-time and part-time; excludes contractors & temporary personnel)  17,800   18,400   20,500   20,700   20,600  16%
             
             
(1) Q2 2008 includes a $53 million non-cash gain associated with the sale of our European DVD rental assets.
 

(2) Includes restricted cash, classified within "Other Assets" on our consolidated balance sheet, of: $245 million Q1 2008, $245 million Q2 2008 $248 million Q3 2008, $308 million Q4 2008 and $295 million Q1 2009.

Amazon.com, Inc.

Certain Definitions and Other

Segment Reporting

  • We present segment information for North America and International. We measure operating results of our segments using an internal performance measure of direct segment operating expenses that excludes stock-based compensation and other operating expense, each of which is not allocated to segment results. Other centrally incurred operating costs are fully allocated to segment results. Our operating results, particularly for the International segment, are affected by movements in foreign exchange rates.
  • The North America segment consists of amounts earned from retail sales of consumer products (including from sellers) and subscriptions through North America-focused websites such as www.amazon.com and www.amazon.ca. This segment includes export sales from www.amazon.com and www.amazon.ca.
  • The International segment consists of amounts earned from retail sales of consumer products (including from sellers) and subscriptions through internationally focused websites such as www.amazon.co.ukwww.amazon.dewww.amazon.co.jpwww.amazon.fr, and www.amazon.cn. This segment includes export sales from these internationally based sites (including export sales from these sites to customers in the U.S. and Canada), but excludes export sales from www.amazon.com and www.amazon.ca.
  • We provide supplemental sales information within each segment for three categories: Media, Electronics and Other General Merchandise, and Other. Media consists of amounts earned from retail sales from all sellers in categories such as books, movies, music, digital downloads, software and video games (including game consoles). Electronics and Other General Merchandise consists of amounts earned from retail sales from all sellers of items in categories not included in Media, such as electronics and computers, devices, home and garden, toys, kids and baby, grocery, apparel, shoes and jewelry, health and beauty, sports and outdoors, tools, and auto and industrial. Other consists of non-retail activities, such as the Amazon Enterprise Solutions program, Amazon Web Services, and miscellaneous marketing and promotional activities, such as our co-branded credit card programs.

Customer Accounts

  • References to customers mean customer accounts, which are unique e-mail addresses, established either when a customer’s initial order is shipped or when a customer orders from other sellers on our websites. Customer accounts exclude certain customers, including customers associated with certain of our acquisitions (including www.amazon.cn customers), Amazon Enterprise Solutions program customers, Amazon.com Payments customers, Amazon Web Services customers, and the customers of select companies with whom we have a technology alliance or marketing and promotional relationship. Customers are considered active when they have placed an order during the preceding twelve month period.

Seller Accounts

  • References to sellers means seller accounts, which are established when a seller receives an order from a customer account. Seller accounts exclude Amazon Enterprise Solutions sellers. Sellers are considered active when they have received an order from a customer during the preceding twelve month period.

Units

  • References to units mean physical and digital units sold (net of returns and cancellations) by us and sellers at Amazon.com domains worldwide – such as www.amazon.comwww.amazon.co.ukwww.amazon.dewww.amazon.co.jpwww.amazon.frwww.amazon.ca, and www.amazon.cn, as well as Amazon.com-owned items sold through non-Amazon.com domains, such as books, music, and movie items ordered from Amazon.com’s store at www.target.com. Units sold do not include units associated with certain of our acquisitions or Amazon.com gift certificates.

Cash Flows and Return on Invested Capital

  • Free cash flow is cash flow from operations reduced by purchases of fixed assets, including internal-use software and website development.
  • SFAS 123(R) requires the reporting of tax benefits relating to excess stock-based compensation deductions as financing cash flows.
  • Return on invested capital is trailing twelve month free cash flow divided by average total assets less current liabilities (excluding current portion of long-term debt) over five quarter ends.

Net Sales

  • Revenue is generally recorded gross for sales of our own inventory and net for sales by other sellers. Amounts paid in advance for subscription services, including amounts received for Amazon Prime and other membership programs, are deferred and recognized as revenue over the subscription term. For our products with multiple elements, where a standalone value for each element cannot be established, we recognize the revenue and related cost over the estimated economic life of the product.

Cost of Sales

  • Cost of sales consists of the purchase price of consumer products and content sold by us, inbound and outbound shipping charges, packaging supplies, and costs incurred in operating and staffing our fulfillment and customer service centers on behalf of other businesses.

Fulfillment

  • Fulfillment costs relate to variable costs corresponding with sales volume and inventory levels; our mix of product sales; payment processing and related transaction costs, including mix of payment methods and costs from our guarantee for certain seller transactions; and costs from expanding fulfillment capacity.

Marketing

  • Marketing consists primarily of online advertising, including through our Associates program, sponsored search, portal advertising, e-mail campaigns, and other initiatives.

Technology and Content

  • Technology and content expenses consist principally of payroll and related expenses for employees involved in application development, category expansion, editorial content, buying, merchandising selection and systems support, as well as costs associated with the compute, storage, and telecommunications infrastructure.
  • A significant majority of our costs for “Technology and content” are incurred in the United States and most of these costs are allocated to our North America segment.

 

 

Source: Amazon.com, Inc.

Amazon.com Investor Relations
Rob Eldridge, 206-266-2171
ir@amazon.com
www.amazon.com/ir
or
Amazon.com Public Relations
Patty Smith, 206-266-7180