Amazon.com has earned a reputation for putting revenues above profits. Well above profits.
But after almost two decades of pursuing this unorthodox strategy, even the true believers are starting to have their doubts about chief executive and founder Jeff Bezos.
Amazon's share price suffered a double-digit crash after the pioneer of online retailing and destroyer and arch-enemy of the bricks-and-mortar brigade failed yet again to deliver the goods.
Third-quarter results show Amazon losing $US437 million ($396 million), more than 10 times the $US41 million loss in the corresponding quarter in 2013.
True to form, revenue was up 20 per cent to $US20.58 billion. However, that number was not as high as the market had expected and the company issued a warning that fourth-quarter sales - the quarter leading up to Christmas, which is also usually the biggest - were also not in good shape.
As The New York Times says: "Amazon's story for several years has been that it is growing furiously, investing heavily and postponing profits until the halcyon days just around the corner when it will sell all things to all people all the time."
After the latest result, those halcyon days don't appear to be any closer.
One of the culprits for the most recent quarter's performance is the ill-fated Amazon Fire smartphone, a device that thousands of employees spent years developing and which Bezos hailed, when it was launched in June, as "the greatest device we know how to build".
The company said a $US170 million write-down it announced was primarily related to "Fire Phone inventory valuation and supplier commitment costs".
That's even after Amazon cut the $US200 launch price (for the phone on a two-year contract) to a token 99 cents in early September.
About two-thirds of the 3000 customer reviews on Amazon's own website give the Fire a one-star (out of five) rating.
And the company revealed that it had $US83 million worth of smartphones languishing unsold in its warehouses.
The Fire Phone was built with smarts that made it easier for users to shop with Amazon. But it has become clear that simplified shopping is not the most important feature for phone owners.
"This phone is like an Android and an iPhone had a crappy, battery eating baby," wrote one customer from Fort Myers in Florida.
"Worst phone I've ever owned," wrote Tim Slattery.
The Fire Phone was not the only contributor to the losses.
Amazon has been ploughing money into expanding Amazon Web Services; it just opened a massive new data centre in Germany.
It has spent lavishly to both buying and producing programming for its Netflix-like Prime Instant Video service.
And it recently expanded its AmazonFresh grocery delivery service to New York City.
Fairfax Media and agencies
