Amazon Reports $2bn Loss in Q2

Amazon posted second consecutive quarterly loss of $2 billion driven mainly by a $3.9 billion write-down of the value of its stock investment in EV startup Rivian Automotive.

In the first quarter of 2022, American-based e-commerce giant posted a loss of $3.84 billion, its first quarterly loss since 2015, which was also marked by a large Rivian write-down. Last year, Amazon reported profits of $7.78 billion in the same period.

At the same time, investors were delighted with Amazon's $121.2 billion in revenue, topping expectations of $119 billion. The results came as the company attempts to navigate shifting consumer demand and higher costs, while curtailing the glut of warehouses it acquired during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, in the long perspective Amazon's investment in Rivian could become problematic if Rivian’s nascent business runs low on cash, hampering the company’s ability to manufacture delivery vehicles at the speed it promised Amazon.

Last week, it was announced, that Amazon was beginning to roll out some of the vans that it developed with Rivian. Amazon said it expects to have thousands of Rivian vans in more than 100 cities by the end of this year, the first step toward its goal of having 100,000 electric delivery vehicles on the road in the U.S. by 2030.