Burbank Villa.
Night.
"Boss, Mr. Bezos is here," Alexander said.
"Oh? Then what are we waiting for? Hurry up and let him over. He's just in time to taste my grilled chicken wings." After saying that, Kyle applied another layer of honey to the chicken wings on the grill.
On a quiet and peaceful evening, in a grass-covered courtyard, setting up a grill, having a few bottles of wine, and drinking with someone is definitely a wonderful thing.
And that's exactly what Kyle was doing!
However, July nights in Los Angeles are truly hot. Even though Kyle had placed several fans in the courtyard, he was still dripping with sweat.
"Hi, Jeff~"
"Hi, Kyle~"
After Jeff Bezos entered the Villa's courtyard, Kyle and Jeff nodded to each other as a greeting.
On such a hot day, who would bother with handshakes or hugs?
If the heat didn't kill you, the stickiness would.
"I say, buddy, you've come at the right time today. Try the chicken wings I grilled myself. Hmm, I'll tell you a little secret: the chicken wings I chose today weren't bought from the market; they're from my own farm," Kyle said.
Several pairs of chicken wings were neatly arranged in front of Jeff.
"Not bad," Jeff said after eating a few wings.
Clap~
Kyle immediately clapped his hands and cheered, "I told you my skills were good. Oh, by the way, I have an idea. Do you want to work on it together?"
"What is it?"
Bezos couldn't help but be interested. He knew Kyle had many wild ideas, but they really did make money!
In an instant, Bezos's interest surged!
"An agricultural products company!"
Kyle pumped his fist, looking very much like an orator standing on a podium.
His entire expression was full of excitement.
"Buddy, although the current medical system is quite developed, and food and water hygiene have also improved, and various state governments have introduced many laws and regulations, honestly, I think quality and hygiene can be improved even further!"
"Green! Healthy!"
"The agricultural products company I want to establish will cover everything from fruits, vegetables, and drinking water, to genetic research and new drug development. In a word, it will be all-encompassing~"
Kyle kept waving his fist in the air.
In contrast, Jeff was currently covered in black lines.
"Kyle!!! If you talk to me about these useless things again, believe it or not, I'll leave right now?!" Bezos gritted his teeth.
I've already taken off my pants, and you're talking to me about this?
"Okay, okay, my mistake~"
Kyle made a face of apology, waved his hand, and said seriously, "In these past three months or so, how many Amazon shares have you collected?"
"I've acquired 7 million shares of Amazon stock at an average price of $9. Yeah, it's about that much." Jeff also became serious.
Kyle nodded.
7 million shares of Amazon stock at an average price of $9 meant he spent over $63 million, accounting for roughly 1% of the total share capital.
"So your current equity stake is roughly around 23.2%?" Kyle said in a deep voice.
"No!"
Jeff showed a sly smile: "By this time tomorrow, it should be 23.8%. Around 3:00 PM tomorrow, the Amazon shares held by Old Trait will be sold to me."
"You move fast!" Kyle praised.
Hearing this, Jeff immediately laughed and scolded, "Don't tell me you haven't bought back many shares; I absolutely wouldn't believe it."
Kyle gave a sheepish smile.
It was true!
Recently, Kyle had also bought back a lot of Amazon stock.
As of now, the Amazon stock Kyle held had already exceeded 7.5%, only 0.5% less than before he sold.
Buddy, think about it.
The current Amazon stock price was less than $8.40, whereas before the Dot-com Bubble burst, Amazon's single-share price exceeded $120.
Between the selling and the buying back, Kyle had made no less than $2 billion!
This profit income alone was enough to make countless people red-eyed with envy.
"We need to speed up our stock buyback actions. After all, it won't be long before Amazon's new quarterly financial report is released," Kyle laughed.
Jeff nodded and said solemnly, "We really do need to speed up. Also, we can't eat alone; we must let some people join in, otherwise we'll become a target for everyone!"
Internet thinking refers to making the plate bigger, making the cake bigger, and making the market bigger. Only when everyone makes money together can interests be maximized.
Eating alone?
In the internet field, the biggest taboo is eating alone!
Do you think the other shareholders are made of clay?
...Mid-July.
Amazon's new quarterly financial report was finally out!
In the last quarter, Amazon achieved a profit!
—A profit of $5.5 million!
Is that little?
However, you must know one thing: in an environment where internet companies generally weren't making money, Amazon was still able to turn a profit. This was absolutely unique.
In addition, the internet industry as a whole was currently in a slump. Even large companies like Microsoft, Cisco, Yahoo, and Oracle showed losses in their recently released financial reports.
But Amazon made a profit!
Consequently, Amazon's ability to earn over $5 million in profit shocked America!
The Washington Post published an article stating: "Amazon Company is the first internet company in the nation to achieve profitability after the burst of the Dot-com Bubble!"
The New York Times published an article stating: "The steady Amazon Company is bound to rise rapidly!"
Bloomberg News reported: "Undoubtedly, Amazon's profitability has injected a shot of adrenaline into the currently decaying internet market!"
For a time, many well-known media outlets in the U.S., including some entertainment tabloids, continuously reported on this phenomenon.
Amazon Company was hailed as an internet myth that rose in the mid-to-late 90s!
In the late 90s, major internet companies all took expanding their user base and market as their main development direction. As for whether they could make a profit, many companies didn't even consider it.
And the result?
Capital chains became tight, or even collapsed!
On the day the Dot-com Bubble burst, as many as 500 listed companies directly declared bankruptcy.
In contrast, the steady Amazon, even though its market value suffered a huge loss, was the first internet enterprise to achieve profitability. On this point alone, it surpassed many companies and became a star enterprise in the internet field.
Why did Amazon's single-share price exceed $2,000 by 2020, making it the company with the highest single-share price in the world?
It was because after the Dot-com Bubble, it became the first internet company to achieve profitability, winning the trust of shareholders and the market!
The next day.
Many retail investors and investment institutions focused their attention on Amazon.
The most direct reaction was that Amazon's stock price surged by $3 that day, returning above $10 in one fell swoop.
At the same time.
Kyle and Jeff, together with over a dozen shareholders, launched acquisitions against certain shareholders to buy the Amazon stock in their hands.
"No!"
"I refuse!"
"That's right, I refuse too!"
"Amazon has regained the trust of investors and the market. I firmly believe the stock price is bound to see a wave of increases. Sell my shares to you now? Hehe, I'm not stupid!"
"The first company in the nation to achieve profitability after the Dot-com Bubble—this title alone makes Amazon's future worth looking forward to."
For a time, Kyle, Jeff, and the others' actions to buy back Amazon stock encountered great obstacles.
"Kyle, what should we do now?" Jeff's expression was somewhat gloomy.
"Hehe!"
Kyle laughed: "Buddy, don't be in a hurry. Do you really think Amazon's stock price won't drop again?"
Hearing this, Jeff's pupils immediately constricted.
Amazon's stock price surging?
Kyle could only chuckle!
Kyle was a transmigrator!
You should know that while Amazon's stock price did indeed achieve a wave of increases recently, the overall internet trend was decaying! After a wave of increases, before long, the stock price would fall back down.
$2!
By the second half of 2001, Amazon's stock price would continue to fall to $2!
"We have plenty of time!" Kyle said with a smile.