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Amazon has laid its tech credentials on the table. The internet company's 28 percent first-quarter sales increase is impressive, but more still are its prodigious and growing earnings
from selling digital services. Amazon's lowly margin remains a long way from justifying its $280 billion valuation, but it is finally looking less like a retailer. Skeptics have long
questioned whether selling books, gadgets and pet supplies online meant Amazon was merely a retailer in a shiny new coat with a penchant for expansion. Its low margins and continued feeble
profitability fed such concerns. These are mere semantics to Amazon. But its Web Services (AWS) division has become, almost by accident, a useful rebuttal. The company got into the business
in part because it had excess infrastructure. Selling that and the digital expertise it developed for its retail operations to the likes of Netflix and other companies provided a nice
additional source of funds. More from Breakingviews : Comcast's $3.8 bln Shrek deal needs some make-up This tail is now wagging the dog. AWS had sales of $2.6 billion in the three
months to March, an increase of 64 percent on the same period last year. Its bumper 28 percent operating margin yielded operating income of more than $700 million. That beats the rest of
Amazon's operations combined - and the fast growth and profitability put to bed the lingering question of whether Amazon is limited to being the new Wal-Mart Stores. Investors have
cottoned on, sending the stock up 12 percent after the market closed. That would push Amazon's market valuation above $300 billion. How big web services will be is unclear. So too is
whether the company will continue to dominate the business and whether it can improve the company's overall net margin beyond the lowly 2 percent level last quarter. For now, though
Amazon and its investors are betting the company will be the digital backbone of the economy. For more independent commentary and analysisfrom Reuters Breakingviews, visit breakingviews.com