— Topic —

    Amazon

    4 receipts tracked • 88% industry hit rate

    — Filed —

    4 receipts on Amazon

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    RECEIPT #BEN-TH

    APR 15, 2024

    Called it.

    PREDICTION BY

    Ben Thompson
    …the advertising possibilities that AI can unlock for Meta, Google and Amazon…

    FOLLOW-UP

    Meta, Google, and Amazon have all heavily integrated AI into their advertising platforms, leading to new ad formats, better targeting, and improved performance, fulfilling the prediction that AI would unlock new possibilities.

    RECEIPT #MIKE-S

    JAN 06, 2026

    Partially right.

    PREDICTION BY

    Mike Shields
    Amazon will make a run at YouTube. The e-commerce giant excels at nearly every avenue of the ad business - except creators. But in part thanks to live shopping, Amazon will go bigger in UGC.

    FOLLOW-UP

    Amazon has integrated its video and ad offerings, but a direct, broad UGC video platform to challenge YouTube has not clearly materialized.

    RECEIPT #BEN-TH

    OCT 29, 2024

    Called it.

    PREDICTION BY

    Ben Thompson
    Google and Amazon will benefit from generative ads, but I expect the effect will be the most powerful at the top of the funnel where Meta’s advertising operates, as opposed to the bottom-of-funnel search ads where Amazon and Google make most of their money.

    FOLLOW-UP

    Meta's ad growth outpaced Google/Amazon in 2024-2025: Meta +22% organic Q4 2024, sustained ~20% in 2025; Google Search +12% Q4 2024, Amazon Ads +18%. Analyst reports noted generative AI boosted Meta's awareness/consideration ads more than intent-driven search.

    RECEIPT #BEN-TH

    OCT 26, 2016

    Called it.

    PREDICTION BY

    Ben Thompson
    It seems increasingly clear that Amazon intends to repeat the model when it comes to logistics: after experimenting with six planes last year the company recently leased 20 more to flesh out its private logistics network; this is on top of registering its China subsidiary as an ocean freight forwarder… So how might this play out? Well, start with the fact that Amazon itself would be this logistics network’s first-and-best customer, just as was the case with AWS. This justifies the massive expenditure necessary to build out a logistics network that competes with UPS, FedEx, et al, and most outlets are framing these moves as a way for Amazon to rein in shipping costs and improve reliability, especially around the holidays. However, I think it is a mistake to think that Amazon will stop there: just as they have with AWS and e-commerce distribution I expect the company to offer its logistics network to third parties, which will increase the returns to scale, and, by extension, deepen Amazon’s eventual moat.

    FOLLOW-UP

    Amazon officially launched 'Amazon Supply Chain Services' in May 2026, making their logistics network available to other businesses, precisely as predicted.