1: The stock price is not the company.

Amazon’s stock price declined nearly 95% from its peak.

Jeff Bezos started his investor letter in 2000 with a single word: “ouch.”

But he also explained that despite the stock’s drop, the company was doing well. pic.twitter.com/NhO5EblvuR

— Jon Erlichman (@JonErlichman) January 29, 2023

2: Cash is king.

Bezos felt Amazon could ride out the storm because it had enough cash.

In early 2000, Amazon completed a timely sale of convertible bonds to European investors.

That deal may have saved Amazon, according to Brad Stone’s book, The Everything Store. pic.twitter.com/q3kVLNQ2sy

— Jon Erlichman (@JonErlichman) January 29, 2023

4: Keep an eye on the future.

When the NASDAQ bottomed out in 2002, Amazon was already thinking ahead.

Over 5 years, it rolled out:

*Amazon Prime (2005)
*Amazon Web Services (2006)
*the Kindle (2007)

“The big winners pay for thousands of failed experiments,” Bezos has said. pic.twitter.com/Na6Adh77jh

— Jon Erlichman (@JonErlichman) January 29, 2023