ClaimsJeff Bezos

“As a first step, we’ve set the goal of achieving a pro forma operating profit in the fourth quarter.”

Jeff Bezos, CEO, writing in Amazon shareholder letter 2001 To our shareholders: Ouch. It's been a brutal year (2000 letter) (Amazon IR)

Guidance Economics and markets

Amazon.com has set the goal of achieving a pro forma operating profit in the fourth quarter of 2001.

Resolved true The record shows it happened or was so.

Guidance: A company's own figures for its results over a period, checked against what it then reported.

The rule for a forecast that gives a range or a bound: the reported figure has to meet it as stated. A figure outside a range counts as not met whether it came in above or below, so beating a forecast is scored like missing it. The reasoning says which it was.

Said for an organisation they lead or work for; it counts on both records.

What would count as true or false

Guidance for Amazon.com's fourth quarter of 2001 (ending 2001-12-31), judged against the pro forma operating result Amazon reported for that quarter. True: Amazon reported a positive pro forma operating profit for Q4 2001 (above zero, on its own pro forma definition). Mostly true: a positive pro forma operating profit was reported, but a minor secondary detail differs, such as a slight difference in how pro forma was defined. Mostly false: the quarter ended at roughly break-even with a tiny pro forma operating loss, or profit was reached only on some other measure (for example one business segment) rather than companywide pro forma operating profit. False: Amazon reported a clear pro forma operating loss for Q4 2001. A profit reached first in a later quarter does not meet the guidance. Later revisions of the target do not change the test.

Set before the research began.

Evidence (3)

  1. E1 Earnings: Amazon reports pro forma profit, Lucent posts loss Computerworld · 22 January 2002

    “Pro forma operating profit was $59 million, compared with a loss of $60 million in the fourth quarter of 2000.”

  2. E2 To our shareholders: Amazon.com, Inc. (2001 shareholder letter, signed by Jeffrey P. Bezos) Own record

    “we exceeded our goals for the fourth quarter with pro forma operating profit of $59 million and pro forma net profit of $35 million.”

  3. E3 Amazon.com Announces 2001 Third Quarter Results; Expects Pro Forma Operating Profitability in Fourth Quarter; Looks Forward to Seventh Holiday Season Amazon.com, Inc. · 23 October 2001 Own record

    “We continue to expect pro forma operating profitability for the fourth quarter, and while there are no guarantees, we are well positioned to achieve this important milestone.”

Reasoning

Computerworld, an independent source, reported on 2002-01-22 that Amazon's pro forma operating profit was $59 million, compared with a $60 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2000. That makes the $59 million figure the Q4 2001 result (E1). Amazon's 2001 shareholder letter gives the same $59 million figure and says it beat its fourth-quarter goals (E2). In October 2001, Amazon said it still expected a pro forma operating profit for the fourth quarter (E3). A clearly positive companywide pro forma operating profit for Q4 2001 meets the guidance.

Cite this claim

Jeff Bezos, “Amazon.com has set the goal of achieving a pro forma operating profit in the fourth quarter of 2001.” (said 2001). Verdict: resolved true. Reliability API, claim c_f7568627281d, method 0.1.0+c876030c, dataset release v1.1.2. https://epistacklabs.com/claims/c_f7568627281d

This claim is in dataset release v1.1.2, with the same verdict.

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