Amazons Most Recent Financial Statements

QUESTION:What does Amazon management say about the seasonality of its business?SOLUTION:The business is affected by seasonality which has resulted in the higher sales volume in the fourth quarter ending on December 31. The annual revenue was 36%, 38% and 39% during the fourth quarter of 2011, 2010 and 2009. The sales during the fourth quarter occur in disproportionate amount and company needs to have significant amount in its inventory so as to meet the customer demand. Failure to meet the demand can adversely affect the revenue and future growth. The company may experience an increase in our net shipping cost due to complimentary upgrades, split-shipments, and additional long-zone shipments necessary to ensure timely delivery for the holiday season. The high load on the website can create problems for the company in terms of fulfillment of orders.QUESTION:Looking at Amazon financial statement, especially the Statement of Cash Flow and Operations (Income Statement), do you believe Amazon is in the Startup, Growth, Mature or other phase of a business life cycle? Explain your reasoning and provide sources, if you used the opinions of others.SOLUTION:The company seems to be a growth company as the company is putting money in purchasing the capital assets. The