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Technology Stocks : Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mark Fowler who wrote (142611)	5/29/2002 8:16:17 AM
From: H James Morris	Respond to of 164687

Amazon.com has been flying too. I think its because its become a lean machine. Ps remind me to get you a floating cell phone for Xmas. >>Shareholders attending Amazon.com's annual meeting today will hear about a company that is slightly different from the one they heard about last year. This one has turned a profit. The shareholder meeting begins at 9 a.m. at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel and Towers at 1400 Sixth Ave. Amazon representatives weren't giving away any details on the program beyond the basics. The meeting agenda calls for the introduction and election of board members, a presentation by Chairman Jeff Bezos and a question-and-answer period. The only item to be voted on by shareholders is the re-election of the six-member board of directors. "It is very straightforward," said Amazon spokeswoman Kristin Schaefer. Amazon.com board members are Bezos, the company's founder; Tom Alberg, managing director of Madrona Investment Group; Scott Cook, co-founder of Intuit, Inc.; John Doerr, a general partner of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers venture capital firm; Patricia Stonesifer, co-chairwoman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and Mark Hansen, chief executive of Fleming Cos., a food, drug and specialty store distributor and retailer. As in the past, the Amazon shareholders meeting likely will consist of a one-man presentation by Bezos. Last year, Bezos showed off some of the items available on Amazon.com, including baby toys and clothes, a robotic lawn mower and a floating cell-phone holder for boaters. This year, he is expected to focus on some of the company's accomplishments in 2001. To begin, Amazon did what many critics never expected: It posted a fourth-quarter net profit of $5 million. Bezos also is expected to describe a leaner, more efficient Amazon.com. In the first quarter of 2001, Amazon had 8,600 employees; by the end of the year, the company employed 7,800 worldwide. More and more, Amazon seems to be taking its cues from Wal-Mart. Like the world's biggest brick-and-mortar retailer, Amazon, which claims it has "the Earth's biggest selection," is now touting its low, low prices. Last July, the online retailer discounted books that cost more than $20 by 30 percent. In April, the company announced that it was lowering prices again, offering customers a 30 percent savings on books that cost more $15. Amazon also started offering free shipping in January on most orders over $99. The company's stock, which has soared and dipped dramatically since the company went public in 1997, has been relatively steady recently, climbing gradually from $10 in January to $19.06 at the close of the market yesterday. Analysts also are looking a little more favorably on the company. "Amazon is continuing to squeeze more out of its inventory, fulfillment and shipping expertise." said Safa Raschtchy, an analyst with US Bancorp Piper Jaffray in a research note earlier this month. Meanwhile, in a regulatory filing yesterday, the company said its decision to reprice stock options last year will add to its costs if share prices remain at current levels. The company already has taken a $9 million expense related to share gains above the new options' $13.38 exercise price, Amazon.com said in the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The cost of the repricing could amount to $61.6 million if the shares rise to $20.06, a dollar higher than yesterday's closing price. Amazon.com, concerned about retaining workers, allowed employees in January 2001 to exchange options with higher exercise prices for those with lower prices. The swaps come under an accounting rule for "variable" awards, increasing the potential for swings in stock-based compensation costs as share prices rise or fall relative to the option exercise prices. seattlepi.nwsource.com