In Part 1 of Amazon, the Unfulfillment Company, we reviewed Amazon’s rise from online bookseller to third largest company on the planet and well on its way to number one. The extreme focus on the customer is the centerpiece of founder Jeff Bezos’s philosophy and while it has increased consumerism and driven down prices on several categories of goods and services, it’s had big ripple effects in the wider economy and the labor market. Today’s episode picks up where we left off to examine the company’s earnings and acquisitions more closely and addresses how the company is one step ahead of efforts to break it up. We finish with some examples of victories and what must happen to contain Amazon’s influence before it becomes sentient and destroys us all. Or something like that. 

Chapters

Part 1 Recap: 00:00:05

Intro: 00:02:17

Chapter Four: Big, Bigger, Biggest: 00:07:26

Chapter Five: It’s a matter of antitrust: 00:18:01

Chapter Six: Tiny Victories: 00:30:53

Epilogue: Bring it home, Max: 00:35:33

Post Show Musings: 00:42:49

Know Your Bills: 00:43:16

Outro: 00:57:57

Resources

Business Insider: Jeff Bezos famously embraces failure. Here are the biggest flops Amazon has overcome under his watch.

The New York Times: Amazon reports slowing sales growth and indicates slowdown may continue.

Marketplace Pulse: Amazon Net Sales 1996-2022

World Population Review: GDP Ranked by Country 2022

Forex Sentiment Board: 10 Largest Companies with Highest Revenue in 2022

Insider Intelligence: Amazon annual revenue breakdown by segment in 2022

The Register: Cloud a three-player market dominated by AWS, Google, Microsoft

CNBC: Amazon has a $31 billion a year advertising business

E Marketer: Amazon has a larger advertising business than YouTube - Insider Intelligence Trends, Forecasts & Statistics

Forbes: Amazon Buys MGM For $8.5 Billion: Deal Could Be Unwound In The Future

Next Big Brand: Here Is The List Of Top 10 Firms Acquired By Amazon

TechCrunch: Amazon to acquire autonomous driving startup Zoox

CB Insights: Visualizing Tech Giants' Billion-Dollar Acquisitions

PYMNTS.com: Amazon's All-Time High US eCommerce Share: 56.7%

Reveal News: Private Report Shows How Amazon Drastically Undercounts Its Carbon Footprint

Congress.gov: 117th Congress (2021-2022): Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021

Book Love

Alec MacGillis: Fulfillment: Winning and Losing in One-Click America

Pod Love

Pitchfork Economics

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