Jeff Bezos famously said, „“Day 2 is stasis. Followed by irrelevance. Followed by excruciating, painful decline. Followed by death. And that is why it is always Day 1.” But now Bezos is CEO no more, and Day One is ending at Amazon. Collapsing revenue growth is no surprise: Amazon’s reliance on endless growth to fuel its stock price has led the company into unprofitable quicksands, a series of blind alleys and missteps in pursuit of the unattainable.

What’s next?

Day One is ending but Amazon can absolutely avoid Day Two – if it ends its panic for growth and refocuses on its partners and customers. Taking an axe to unprofitable ventures inside and outside its retail business will turn Amazon very quickly into an extraordinarily highly profitable company, but that would require popping its governing fantasy that it’s forever an Internet/growth company.

There are signs this change is under way. When completed, Amazon will be left with a unique platform and multiple revenue streams driving long term, sustainable, and profitable growth.