News

"Is Amazon Enron?"

Creepy similarities may unnerve Amazon stockholders.

Amazon:

"It didn't take long after Amazon.com went public for Michael and Molly Hanlon, 25, to realize they would be rich. ...In the few years since Michael has been working for Amazon.com, the stock has jumped to $135 a share. (The company went public in May 1997 at $3 a share, adjusted for stock splits.)"--The Seattle Times, 1999

Enron:

"At Enron, more than half of the employees' 401(k) assets, or about $1.2 billion, was invested in company stock, which is now nearly worthless."--The New York Times, 2002

Magical accounting!

Amazon:

"Assessing the cash figure is particularly difficult. Using the number that Amazon prefers to emphasize--pro forma--Amazon gave no information on liabilities, like accounts payable. 'In my opinion... this is the best quarter in our history,' said Amazon's chief financial officer."--The New York Times, 2001

Enron:

"The tale of the company's rapid rise and astonishing collapse will be studied for years... [a] lesson in the dangers of relying on financial juggling... [that] Wall Street analysts and government regulators barely understood."--The New York Times, 2002

Diversifies--offering a wide array of products!

Amazon:

"News of the vast expansion--which will add more than 500,000 items, including fly-fishing rods and buffalo steaks, to Amazon.com's product mix-- sent the company's stock soaring more that 22 percent yesterday."--Associated Press, 1999

Enron:

"To liberate Enron from its reliance on the old world of hard assets Enron decided to transform itself. No longer would it simply be in the business of moving and selling gas. Wood pulp, steel, advertising, insurance--all became fodder for the rapidly growing Enron finance and trading empire."--The New York Times, 2002

Employees achieve unparalleled heights of productivity!

Amazon:

"Amazon employees and managers talk about 'working at Amazon time.' 'If it's hard for you to go fast, it can be hard for you here,' said Jan Slade, until recently Amazon's customer service director. 'If you like things comfortable, it can be a difficult place to be.'"--The Washington Post, 1999

Enron:

"One of the hallmarks of the [Enron] regime was a performance review process that employees called 'rank and yank.' The evaluations compared the performance of employees against one another, with the bottom 15 percent getting axed every year."--The Houston Chronicle, 2001