
Why Amazon’s three biggest deals ever were for a grocery chain, movie studio, and health care provider – CNBC

Amazon still makes most of its revenue from orders placed through the online stores, and most of its profit from its cloud computing arm. Both of those businesses had been built almost entirely in house.
But Amazon’s largest acquisitions show the company is willing to buy growth in markets that are adjacent to its core competencies.
On Thursday, Amazon said it will buy 1 Medical for $3. 9 billion, marking a major expansion associated with the company’s move into health care. The primary care provider will join other Amazon wellness care offerings like its online pharmacy, telehealth services, and nascent diagnostics business.
Before A single Medical, Amazon’s two largest acquisitions ever were the $13. 7 billion purchase of grocery chain Whole Foods in 2017 and its $8. 45 billion buy of film and television distributor MGM Studios last year.
These offers underscore how Amazon and other Silicon Valley giants like Google , Facebook , and Apple have transformed into “modern day conglomerates” in pursuit of continued growth from their already enormous bases, according to Emilie Feldman, the management professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
“What they’re doing is a strategy in search of development in adjacencies to this primary area that might be a bit constrained in and of itself, ” said Feldman. “So e-commerce is e-commerce, but can we kind associated with search for niches that might be faster growing want healthcare, or can all of us accelerate our ability to get before people’s eyeballs through ads or even something like that will through MGM. ”
“They need to get in to new areas where they can find growth, and health care is ripe, ” agreed Lisa Phillips, a principal digital health analyst at Insider Intelligence. “With this acquisition here, they’re saying we’re in this to win it now. inch
Amazon also can’t make acquisitions within its core markets, lest it risk angering regulators who are already eager to scrutinize its market power. Instead, the company has to purchase big in areas where this has less of the presence, like healthcare or autonomous driving .
MGM plus Whole Foods deals furthermore tie back to the company’s Prime subscription offering, which gives it a steady stream of recurring revenue from millions of consumers and encourages loyalty.
One particular Medical could follow that same template. Amazon has already added pharmacy benefits in order to Prime.
“They can offer discounted health care to Prime members, which creates more devotion around Prime, ” stated Brian Yarbrough, a senior analyst at Edward Jones. “It’s another feather in their cap. inches
Amazon didn’t indicate Thursday whether the particular acquisition would lead to an expansion associated with health-related Prime benefits. Neil Lindsay, the senior vice president of Amazon Health Services, who previously led Amazon’s Primary business, mentioned the company believes “health care is high on the list of experiences that need reinvention. ”
Buy or build
All three purchases came about after Amazon made a serious effort to build those business places on its own.
Beginning in the particular mid-2000s, Amazon . com dedicated money and top talent toward making inroads in grocery store delivery with services like Amazon Fresh and Prime Now. But roughly a decade later, it had produced little progress beyond a grocery delivery service, plus acquired Whole Foods, which gave this industry knowhow and the large footprint of brick-and-mortar retail areas.
Amazon’s Perfect Video remains a significant competitor to the likes of Netflix , Disney along with other streaming services, and the organization spends billions of dollars each year to create original content for users of its Prime loyalty club. By scooping up MGM, it provided Amazon a good immediate boost to its content library , giving it access in order to storied titles like the James Bond catalog and premium cable network Epix, among other assets.
Similarly, Amazon has dabbled in healthcare for several years. Amazon . com bought PillPack in 2018 for $750 million , then rolled out its own online pharmacy. It also launched Amazon Care, a service that has both telehealth and in-person offerings, first for the own employees before opening it up to other employers last year. The offering competes along with One Medical.
Amazon has certainly had success diversifying with businesses it’s built in house. Amazon Web Services started in 2006 plus grew into the market-leading cloud computing platform, making Amazon . com a main player within enterprise software and generating $18. 5 billion associated with the carrier’s total $24. 9 billion in operating income last years. Amazon has furthermore become a formidable competitor inside online advertising, recently revealing the business booked $31. 2 billion in revenue in 2021, exceeding Microsoft , Snap and Pinterest’s ad revenue.
But the company has also shown that if it can’t build fast enough, it’s willing in order to buy.
WATCH: Amazon to acquire One Medical with regard to roughly $3. 9 billion dollars