Large-scale e-commerce is no longer primarily about retail. It is an advertising business disguised as a retailer.
By Vlad from Bastion on
Advertising has 60% to 70% operating margins. Retail makes just 2% to 5%.
Amazon’s ad business generated ~$47 billion in EBIT in 2025 at a 70% margin. Goldman Sachs expects that to reach $80 billion by 2028.
We still call Amazon and MercadoLibre online retailers. In reality, they are massive advertising platforms.
$AMZN