Boohoo shares are down 40pc after profits warning, while Amazon, the world's biggest online retailer, continues to be dogged by concerns about its profitability
Shares in Boohoo.com fell 40pc after a profits warning Photo: Boohoo.com
Questions about the profitability of online retailers have reared their head again after Boohoo.com issued a major profits warning and saw its share price slump 40pc.
While online sales may be soaring in the UK, the US and elsewhere, profits have not followed. Online retailers including Asos, Ocado, AO.com and even the biggest of them all, Amazon, have all been dogged by questions about how much money they make.
Asos's share price is down by two-thirds in the last year, Ocado is yet to post an annual profit despite launching in 2000, and Amazon's market value shrank by a quarter last year.
2014 was a year when investors in Amazon and online retailers began to run out of patience about the lack of profits and shareholder returns. In Amazon's case, this frustration was driven by the Seattle-based company posting a third quarter loss of $437m (£290m), despite sale rising 20pc to $20.6bn.
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