Amazon is a colossus of innovation. It uses its tech expertise to revolutionize everything it touches, much to the benefit of consumers and the detriment of other producers and middlemen. It is relentless. What does its future look like?
Because Amazon’s MO is to expand horizontally into fields in which it has lots of competitors, it is not particularly vulnerable to antitrust action, barring an implausible and dramatic change in the law. Unlike Google and Facebook, it doesn’t play a large role in shaping the political discourse in this country. In legal terms, it is in better shape than some of its brethren.
Amazon’s points of vulnerability are its manipulation of third party sellers on its platform and its treatment of workers. With the latter, however, the relevant question is, compared to what? Is there any credible information which suggests that Amazon’s employees are treated significantly worse than workers in comparable positions in competing companies? I’m not aware of any. As to the former, even if the federal government had the ability and the will to force Amazon to choose between its platform and its own producers, which is highly unlikely, it would hardly be fatal to the company.
BUY OR SELL? Buy. Amazon has plenty of friends and resources to use against its political opponents, and its commitment to innovation is very impressive.