For much of Amazon's early history, investors and competitors knocked the online retailer for its seeming inability to generate profits. Even as recently as 2014, just a decade ago, the tech giant was unprofitable.
But after posting a record-breaking $20 billion in profits during the fourth quarter of 2024 alone, almost double its $10.6 billion from the same quarter the prior year, Amazon is once again looking like the version of itself that many of its rivals should fear. And with that profit engine revved up and feeding an enormous cash buffer, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is doubling down in the industry's AI infrastructure arms race.
