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Amazon was profitable for four quarters in a row

Not just grow at all costs.

Asa Mathat
Jason Del Rey has been a business journalist for 15 years and has covered Amazon, Walmart, and the e-commerce industry for the last decade. He was a senior correspondent at Vox.

Amazon to competitors: We can turn a profit, too.

The e-commerce company just recorded its largest quarterly profit — for the second consecutive quarter — and that’s not the only streak it’s on. Amazon has now also recorded a profit for four quarters in a row. You have to go back to a 12-month period between 2011 and 2012 to find the last time Amazon had such a streak.

Amazon quarterly profit or loss

Amazon has had a reputation as a money-loser — a company that pursues growth because it can’t be consistently profitable — but it may now be putting that stigma aside for good. Part of that has to do with the fact that its AWS business is both its fastest growing and most profitable business unit. Amazon’s CFO has also said in recent quarters that the company has been taking a harder look at where it can reduce costs.

Apparently it’s not just talk.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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