For those who don’t do their own research:
Amazon is in the logistics, database/cloud/internet and bullshit business.
As logisticians and database/cloud/internet providers, they are the pinnacle of achievement in the history of man. Walmart are junior pikers in comparison.
As bullshit artists, they defined the genre.
They are likely to have a 100 year run as the richest company in the world.
I still have a clear memory of looking at their stock in the early 80’s and asking, “why would anybody buy into a company that’s never turned a profit?” I apparently missed something there.
Their really valuable asset is the logistics chain. The retail business subsidizes the build out of that. Once it’s completed, they’ll have a monopoly on same-day delivery that’ll put a lot of retailers out of business. Walmart has seen this coming and is making an effort to counter it, but much of the big box world hasn’t caught on yet.