Amazon: Beyond Retail

Daniel Mahncke and Shawn O’Malley break down Amazon (ticker: AMZN), one of the most transformative companies of the modern era — a business that started as an online bookstore and ended up reshaping global commerce, cloud computing, and digital infrastructure. From innovating retail logistics to building the backbone of the internet through AWS, Amazon has changed the way the world shops and interacts with technology — and it’s not slowing down. 

In this episode, you’ll learn how Amazon evolved from a retail disruptor into a multi-engine platform business, how AWS and advertising became its primary profit drivers, how the company is navigating massive AI investments and expanding into satellite internet with Project Kuiper, and whether the current valuation reflects the next leg of growth — plus plenty more along the way.

Prefer to watch? Click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to watch this episode on YouTube.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN

00:00 - Intro 03:20 - How Bezos built Amazon and its Culture 13:32 - How Amazon’s Flywheel works 18:46 - How Amazon built one of the largest Advertising businesses in the world 27:19 - What AWS is and what role it plays for Amazon 39:09 - The Dynamics of the e-commerce business and competition 43:44 - Whether Amazon Devices can turn into a success story after all 51:01 - What position Amazon is taking in AI 58:20 - What impact Kuiper could have on Amazon’s business 1:08:46 - How Amazon performed in times of tariffs and immense capex spend

1:27:56 - Whether Amazon is attractively valued at its current levels

1:29:29 - Whether Shawn & Daniel add AMZN to The Intrinsic Value Portfolio

*Disclaimer: Slight timestamp discrepancies may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

• Get smarter about valuing businesses in just a few minutes each week through our newsletter, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Intrinsic Value Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
• Sign Up for The Intrinsic Value Community.
• The Investor’s Podcast on Amazon’s Story.
• Quartr’s Overview of Amazon.
• The Shareholder Letters of Jeff Bezos.
• Clayton Christensen's The Innovator’s Dilemma.
• Amazon CEO Andy Jassy Interview at the Harvard Business Review.
• Check out our previous Intrinsic Value breakdowns: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Nintendo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Airbnb⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AutoZone⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Alphabet⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Ulta⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠John Deere⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Madison Square Garden Sports⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
• Check out the books mentioned in the podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
• Enjoy ad-free episodes when you subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Premium Feed⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

NEW TO THE SHOW?

• Follow our official social media accounts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
• Browse through all our episodes (complete with transcripts) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
• Try Shawn's favorite tool for picking stock winners and managing our portfolios: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TIP Finance⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
• Enjoy exclusive perks from our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠favorite Apps and Services⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
• Learn how to better start, manage, and grow your business with the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠best business podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

SPONSORS

Support our free podcast by supporting our sponsors:

• CFI Education

• Airbnb

Connect with Shawn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Email⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Connect with Daniel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Email⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

HELP US OUT!

Help us reach new listeners by leaving us a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠rating and review⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! It takes less than 30 seconds and really helps our show grow, which allows us to bring on even better guests for you all! Thank you – we really appreciate it! 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://theinvestorspodcastnetwork.supportingcast.fm