Amazon reported its first profitable quarter in the fourth quarter of 2001.
The company recorded a GAAP net profit of $5 million, equal to 1 cent per share, for the three months ending December 31, 2001. The result was especially striking because Amazon had reported a $545 million loss in the same quarter a year earlier. Fourth-quarter holiday demand helped push revenue above $1 billion for the first time.
Amazon’s result arrived during the collapse of the dot-com bubble, when many internet companies were failing or sharply cutting back. Amazon had spent years prioritizing growth, fulfillment infrastructure, technology, and new product categories over near-term earnings. Its first quarterly profit signaled that the business could scale beyond its original online-bookstore model.
The answer is sometimes confused with 2003, when Amazon reported its first full-year profit. Those are different milestones: the first profitable quarter came in Q4 2001, while the first profitable year followed later.