Profit Dawns on Amazon.com

Amazon.com Inc., Seattle, posts its first profitable quarter on record. The Web’s largest retailer squeaked by with a net profit of five million dollars, or one cent per share, for the fourth quarter ended December 31, compared with a fourth-quarter loss of $545 million a year ago.

Moderator: Will Amazon continue to make money?

Amid all the hoopla around Amazon’s strong fourth quarter showing is the sobering reality that this is the first time in roughly eight years of operating that the company has made any money.

The fourth quarter is usually the strongest selling period for retailers and with that in perspective, $5 million does not seem like much for an international retailer. It will be interesting to see what happens in quarters one though three.