The timing could not have been more serendipitous. The day after a long and discursive congressional hearing into the competitive practices of America’s tech giants, the big four (Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google) released their Q2 2020 earnings. If the reaction from the market was anything to go by, investors are not betting on Washington. Nor are consumers.

吨他时机已经不能更多的偶然。 在国会就美国科技巨头的竞争做法进行漫长而漫长的听证会后的第二天，四大巨头 (亚马逊，苹果，Facebook和Google) 发布了2020年第二季度的收益 。 如果市场的React有待发展，那么投资者就不会押注华盛顿。 消费者也不是。

Businesses might complain about the gangster-like behavior of Google and Facebook, who mercilessly shake down corporates for ad money, which gets siphoned into a black box of bids and target audiences. But for the average person who uses Google to search the net, and Facebook to see what their friends are up to, there is not much to complain about.

企业可能会抱怨Google和Facebook的the徒行为，他们无情地动摇了公司的广告资金，这些广告被吸引到了标书和目标受众的黑匣子中。 但是对于使用Google搜索网络和使用Facebook查看朋友的最新动态的普通人来说，没有什么可抱怨的。

By now we are all used to seeing ads on social media. We tolerate them because they are necessary to maintain the service. We know we are the product and that businesses are paying for our attention. Why should we care if some businesses are being gouged for the right to pierce the social veil and sell to us while we are scrolling through posts from our friends and family?

到目前为止，我们都已经习惯了在社交媒体上看到广告。 我们容忍他们，因为他们是维持服务所必需的。 我们知道我们是产品，而企业正在付出我们的注意力。 当我们浏览朋友和家人的帖子时，为什么我们要关心是否有一些企业被剥夺了揭穿社会面纱并卖给我们的权利？

Consumers struggle to see how their lives are adversely affected by the business practices of America’s tech giants. Most likely feel their lives are easier, more connected, and more affordable. Until consumers can draw a direct line between the market power of the tech giants and their own welfare, Congress will be pushing the proverbial uphill.

消费者努力寻找自己的生活受到美国科技巨头的商业行为的不利影响。 最有可能感到他们的生活更轻松，更紧密联系且更实惠。 除非消费者能在科技巨头的市场力量和他们自己的福利之间划清界限，否则国会将把这句谚语推上山坡。

But as the pandemic catalyzes the merging of our physical and virtual worlds, it may only be a matter of time before consumers do start asking questions. As our behaviors are shaped by the pandemic, to what extent will these changes become entrenched? Before the Covid crisis hit, an online presence was critical for sellers but not their only channel (probably not even their biggest). Now, suddenly, it is the only game in town.

但是随着大流行病催化了我们的物理世界和虚拟世界的融合，消费者开始提出问题可能只是时间问题。 当我们的行为受到大流行的影响时，这些变化将在多大程度上根深蒂固？ 在Covid危机爆发之前，在线业务对于卖家至关重要，但对他们的唯一渠道并不重要(可能甚至对他们最大的渠道也不重要)。 现在，突然之间，这是镇上唯一的游戏。

美国科技不受Covid-19的流平影响 (U.S. tech is immune to the levelling effects of Covid-19)

The congressional hearings were described as “historical” with “exchanges likely to have lasting resonance”. Neither is remotely true. Industrial leaders and Wall Street oligarchs have invariably been dragged before congressional sub-committees to answer for their misdeeds. Often these hearings serve no other purpose than to draw public attention to conflicts of interest and dodgy practices that, while not strictly illegal, do perceptible harm to people on the street.

国会的听证会被描述为“ 历史性的 ”，“ 交流可能会产生持久的共鸣 ”。 两者都不是完全正确的。 工业领导者和华尔街寡头们总是被拖到国会小组委员会面前，为自己的不当行为做出回应。 通常，这些听证会没有其他目的，只能引起公众对利益冲突和狡猾行径的关注，尽管这并非严格非法，但对流落街头的人们造成了明显的伤害。

Red-faced executives bluster their way through rapid-fire questions from a few grandstanding members, promise to look into things and make some changes, then wait out the news cycle until the public moves on to something else. It captures our attention for a fleeting moment, then we all go back to what we were doing before (probably browsing Facebook).

满脸红脸的高管们通过一些知名人士的快速提问来鼓舞自己，承诺要研究并做出一些改变，然后等待新闻周期，直到公众转向其他事物为止。 它瞬间吸引了我们的注意力，然后我们都回到了以前的工作(可能浏览过Facebook)。

For politicians, these hearings are an opportunity to attack a group of people who, at least for a few days, are less popular than they are. The only problem is, in the case of the tech giants, the average person on the street has little reason to feel aggrieved. Of course, if you ever wasted thousands of dollars on Facebook or Google ads and got nothing in return, you might think about getting these people alone with a blowtorch and pair of plyers. But for someone who simply enjoys posting on Facebook and sharing their photos on Instagram, they will not lose sleep over the fact that both platforms are owned by the same company.

对于政客来说，这些听证会是攻击一群人的机会，这些人至少在几天之内不如以前那样受欢迎。 唯一的问题是，对于科技巨头来说，街上的普通人几乎没有理由感到委屈。 当然，如果您曾经在Facebook或Google广告上浪费了数千美元 ，却一无所获，那么您可能会考虑让这些人独自一人拿着喷灯和一双绞线钳。 但是对于只喜欢在Facebook上发帖并在Instagram上分享照片的人而言，他们不会因为两个平台都属于同一公司而失去睡眠。

If this hearing was the final word on big tech, then the critics have failed, and the debate will have to move on. These companies are getting more popular with their users and investors, not less. At this point, the chance of breaking up these giants is zero. Other regulatory measures will be necessary to tame their power, but users will have no interest in seeing government carve up these businesses for the sake of competition.

如果这次听证会是大型技术的最终决定，那么批评家们将失败，辩论将不得不继续进行。 这些公司越来越受到其用户和投资者的欢迎，而不是更少。 此时，分裂这些巨人的机会为零。 其他监管措施可能是控制其权力所必需的，但用户不会看到政府为了竞争而将这些业务分拆。

To understand how these companies have grown in favor even over the last few months, you only need to look at the performance of these shares in comparison to the rest of the market.

要了解这些公司在过去几个月中如何获得青睐，您只需要比较这些股票与其他市场的表现即可。

If Congress hoped that the Covid-19 crisis would have a levelling effect on these megacap stocks, it was sorely mistaken. The Q2 results are revealing because they show how revenue and costs are holding up through a full quarter of Covid-19 .Not only are these companies weathering the storm, they are thriving like never before thanks to a captive online audience and the need for businesses to pivot to online selling as quickly as humanly possible.

如果国会希望Covid-19危机能对这些大盘股造成平缓的影响，那是非常错误的。 由于显示了整个Covid-19整个季度的收入和成本如何保持增长，因此第二季度的结果令人欣慰。这些公司不仅在风暴中度过了难关，而且由于在线用户的吸引力和对业务的需求，它们正以前所未有的速度蓬勃发展尽可能快地转向在线销售。

亚马逊的分水岭发生在Covid危机的深度期间 (Amazon’s watershed quarter happened during the depth of the Covid crisis)

Of the big four, it was Amazon that came out the biggest winner of the Covid quarter. Not only did it crush the market’s expectations, it reported the largest net profit in its history (nearly double that of the corresponding quarter in 2019). Net sales rose 40% to $88.9 billion compared to $63.4 billion in Q2 2019.

在四大巨头中，亚马逊是Covid季度最大的赢家。 它不仅粉碎了市场的预期 ，而且报告了有史以来最大的净利润 (几乎是2019年同期的两倍)。 净销售额从2019年第二季度的634亿美元增长40％至889亿美元。

Around $46 billion was generated from online stores, up 49%, more than making up for the drop in sales from physical stores (including Amazon’s Whole Foods markets), which fell 13% due to lockdowns and social distancing. Amazon’s operating income rose to $5.8 billion compared to $3.1 billion in Q2 2019 and net income rose to $5.2 billion compared to $2.6 billion in Q2 2019.

在线商店产生了约460亿美元，增长了49％，足以弥补实体商店(包括亚马逊的Whole Foods市场)的销售下降，后者由于封锁和社交距离而下降了13％。 亚马逊的营业收入从2019年第二季度的31亿美元增至58亿美元，净收入从2019年第二季度的26亿美元增至52亿美元。

While only $10.8 billion of sales came from the AWS segment, it contributed over half of Amazon’s operating income. Amazon’s quarterly update included a host of big names that had made the move to AWS and were using Amazon to help them reach customers online. According to its release, Amazon increased grocery delivery capacity by over 160% and tripled grocery pickup locations, while online grocery sales also tripled in Q2 2020 compared to Q2 2019.

虽然只有108亿美元的销售额来自AWS部门，但它贡献了亚马逊超过一半的营业收入。 亚马逊的季度更新包括许多大人物，这些大人物已经转向了AWS，并使用亚马逊来帮助他们在线上吸引客户。 根据其发布的消息，亚马逊将杂货配送能力提高了160％以上，并将杂货取货地点增加了两倍，而在线杂货销售在2020年第二季度也比2019年第二季度增加了两倍。

As companies around the world slim down, Amazon has added 175,000 jobs since March and is in the process of bringing 125,000 of these into regular, full-time positions. Amazon spent over $4 billion on Covid-19 related costs in Q2, covering personal protective equipment, the cleaning of facilities, new safety process paths, backup family care benefits, and thank you bonuses to front-line employees and delivery partners worth over $500 million.

随着全球公司的萎缩，自三月以来，亚马逊已经增加了17.5万个工作岗位，并且正在将其中的125,000个工作岗位转移到常规的全职职位。 亚马逊第二季度在Covid-19相关费用上花费了超过40亿美元，其中包括个人防护设备，设施的清洁，新的安全流程，后备家庭护理福利，以及为价值超过5亿美元的一线员工和交付合作伙伴提供的奖金。

Amazon’s new open-source AI technology Distance Assistant helps keep employees safe by providing them with live feedback on their social distancing via a 50-inch monitor. A helpful piece of technology, but one still gets the impression that Amazon would be happier if it did not have to deal with the biological shortcomings of a human workforce.

亚马逊的新型开源AI技术距离助手通过50英寸显示器向员工提供有关其社交距离的实时反馈，从而帮助确保员工安全。 这是一项有用的技术，但仍然给人一种印象，那就是如果亚马逊不必处理人类劳动力的生物学缺陷，它将更快乐。

What is incredible about Amazon is not just that it is growing consistently but that it continually beats even the top-end forecasts. Amazon regularly reports operating income above its guidance range or at the upper end. This has helped to drive its share price ever higher. This quarter, Amazon’s guidance pointed to Q2 operating income of between -$1.5 billion and $1.5 billion. It came in at $5.8 billion: $4.3 billion higher than the upper bound. Analysts who took a conservative view were blown out of the water, while even those who were bullish were left in a cloud of dust.

亚马逊令人难以置信的不仅是它持续增长，而且甚至超过了最高预测。 亚马逊定期报告营业收入超出其指导范围或上限。 这有助于将其股价推高。 亚马逊的指导指出，本季度第二季度的营业收入在-15亿美元至15亿美元之间。 收入为58亿美元：比上限高出43亿美元。 持保守观点的分析师被吹了出来，而即使那些看涨的分析师也被蒙上了一层尘埃。

For the anti-trust brigade, third-party sales outstripped first-party sales, reflected in a rise in revenue from third-party services (although the underlying figures are unknown). Much of the congressional hearings centered on Amazon’s alleged practice of using its algorithm to squeeze independent sellers and push Amazon’s own-brand products to users. Amazon has denied this in the past, likely because it did not want to attract too much regulatory attention. But even though Jeff Bezos was caught red-handed, Amazon’s lawyers are not girding their loins.

对于反托拉斯大队而言，第三方销售超过了第一方销售，这反映出来自第三方服务的收入增加(尽管基本数字尚不清楚)。 国会的许多听证会都集中在亚马逊所谓的使用其算法来挤压独立卖家并将亚马逊的自有品牌产品推向用户的做法上。 亚马逊过去否认了这一点，可能是因为它不想引起太多监管关注。 但是，即使杰夫·贝索斯(Jeff Bezos)被人当场抓捕，亚马逊的律师也没有束手无策。

Even in Europe, where competition laws are tighter than they are in the U.S., the legal case against Amazon does not quite stand up. While there is legitimate public anxiety, Amazon is not at the stage where it can muscle all of its competitors out of the ring. Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, there is little to suggest that Amazon’s success is destroying competition.

即使在竞争法律比美国严格的欧洲，针对亚马逊的法律诉讼也无法成立。 尽管存在合理的公众焦虑，但亚马逊还没有处于可以让所有竞争对手脱颖而出的阶段。 即使在Covid-19大流行期间，也几乎没有迹象表明亚马逊的成功正在摧毁竞争。

亚马逊不会为大流行而down之以鼻 (Amazon will not down its ratchet for a pandemic)

Amazon’s power appears immense when you look at the share of online sales in the U.S. that are made through Amazon’s website. However, this metric alone does not tell the whole story. As journalist Brian Dumaine outlines in his book Bezonomics (2020):

当您查看通过亚马逊网站在美国在线销售所占的份额时，亚马逊的力量显得无穷。 但是，仅此指标并不能说明全部情况。 正如记者布赖恩·杜马因 (Brian Dumaine)在他的著作《 动物学》 ( Bezonomics ，2020年)中所概述的那样 ：

“While Amazon controls nearly 40 percent of all online retail in the U.S., online retail only accounts for about 10 percent of all retail in the U.S. — nine out of every ten of our shopping dollars still go to brick-and-mortar stores. It turns out that customers like to try on dresses and shoes, squeeze cantaloupes, and compare HD TV screens before buying. That means that Amazon only controls about 4 percent of U.S. retail. Globally the situation is even starker. Amazon controls only 1 percent of retail worldwide, and formidable competitors such as Walmart and China’s three behemoths, Alibaba, Tencent, and JD.com, will make sure that Amazon will have to fight hard for every additional dollar of sales.”

“尽管亚马逊控制着美国近40％的在线零售，但在线零售仅占美国所有零售的10％-我们每10美元的购物中有9美元仍流向实体商店。 事实证明，客户喜欢在购买前试穿衣服和鞋子，挤压哈密瓜，并比较高清电视屏幕。 这意味着亚马逊仅控制美国零售业的4％。 在全球范围内，情况甚至更加严峻。 亚马逊仅控制着全球零售业的1％，强大的竞争对手，如沃尔玛和中国的三大巨头阿里巴巴，腾讯和京东，将确保亚马逊将为每增加一美元的销售额而奋斗。”

Dumaine is right to point out that Amazon’s share of the total retail market is small. Nor does Amazon have much success in sinking third-party sellers. Amazon’s private-label products make up less than 1 percent of its total sales, which is far less than the likes of Walmart. However, while Amazon operates in a global marketplace, it undoubtedly wields a high degree of online market power in North America. As Covid-19 speeds up the long-running trend of consumers eschewing physical brick-and-mortar shops in favor of a more convenient online experience, Amazon will only add to its market share.

杜马因(Dumaine)指出亚马逊在整个零售市场中的份额很小是正确的。 亚马逊在吸引第三方卖家方面也没有取得太大成功。 亚马逊的自有品牌产品占其总销售额的比例不到1％，远低于沃尔玛这样的产品。 但是，尽管亚马逊在全球市场开展业务，但无疑在北美拥有很高的在线市场力量。 随着Covid-19加速了长期的趋势，即消费者放弃实体店而转而使用更方便的在线体验，亚马逊只会增加其市场份额。

In the short-term, this might not be a huge problem for consumers, who are getting cheaper products delivered quicker. For a lot of businesses, it is not Amazon that threatens them but the internet itself. In the hypercompetitive world of e-commerce, there is no room for businesses that fail to adapt and respond to the needs and preferences of consumers. However, as the Covid-19 pandemic drags on, Amazon is one of the few businesses that stands to gain a great deal.

在短期内，对于消费者而言，这可能不是一个大问题，因为他们会更快地获得更便宜的产品。 对于很多企业而言，威胁它们的不是亚马逊，而是互联网本身。 在竞争异常激烈的电子商务世界中，没有企业无法适应和响应消费者的需求和偏好的空间。 但是，随着Covid-19大流行的到来，亚马逊是为数不多的获得巨大收益的企业之一。

While its private-label products are not gaining as much traction as Amazon would like (and some critics claim), third-party sellers are becoming more reliant on the platform. Right now, Amazon can only hobble its major competitors without knocking them out. But as the algorithm improves and competitors with weaker balance sheets come under pressure from the pandemic, we should be aware of the potential threat that Amazon poses to competition.

尽管其自有品牌产品的吸引力不及亚马逊想要的(有些批评家声称)，但第三方卖家越来越依赖该平台。 目前，亚马逊只能扼杀其主要竞争对手，而不能将其淘汰。 但是随着算法的改进以及资产负债表较弱的竞争对手受到大流行的压力，我们应该意识到亚马逊对竞争造成的潜在威胁。

Amazon’s strategy is to keep turning what Seth Godin calls “the ratchet”. It started with books, then it became movies, household products, furniture, clothing, and cloud solutions. By leveraging a trusted brand, Amazon earned permission from millions of customers to branch out into other products and services. Businesses cannot keep turning the ratchet forever. Eventually, competitors dedicated to doing things cheaper or faster will start filling gaps. But Amazon still has plenty of leverage left in its ratchet, and it is not putting it down for the pandemic. It might even start turning it faster.

亚马逊的策略是继续扭转塞思·戈丁(Seth Godin)所说的“棘轮” 。 它从书籍开始，然后成为电影，家用产品，家具，服装和云解决方案。 通过利用值得信赖的品牌，亚马逊获得了数百万客户的许可，可以扩展到其他产品和服务。 企业不能永远保持棘轮状态。 最终，致力于以更便宜或更快的速度做事的竞争对手将开始填补空白。 但是，亚马逊仍然具有巨大的杠杆作用，并没有因为流行病而失望。 它甚至可能开始更快地转动它。

Not all disruption is bad. Some of it is necessary and unavoidable. For consumers, the benefits of e-commerce have been immense: companies have become more focused on user experience, crafting better deals and promotions, and speeding up delivery. While not quite as revolutionary as electricity or air travel, the internet age has brought real, life-enhancing benefits. But we do not want to kill the goose that lays the golden egg. Too much power concentrated in the hands of a few will forestall innovation and harm consumers in the long run.

并非所有的破坏都是不好的。 其中一些是必要和不可避免的。 对于消费者来说，电子商务的好处是巨大的：公司已更加关注用户体验，制定更好的交易和促销活动以及加快交付速度。 互联网时代虽然不如电力旅行或航空旅行那样具有革命性，但它却带来了真正的，改善生活的好处。 但是我们不想杀死下金蛋的鹅。 从长远来看，太多的权力集中在少数几个人的手中会阻碍创新，并损害消费者。

Amazon has not yet reached that point, but we should consider the possibility as we continue to change our behavior in the face of the virus. Amazon is not a single online gateway to consumers, but it is moving closer in that direction. Busting it up is not an option, but prudent regulatory measures may be needed if these trends continue.

亚马逊尚未达到这一点，但随着面对病毒的不断改变，我们应该考虑这种可能性。 亚马逊并不是通往消费者的单一在线门户，但它正在朝这个方向靠近。 阻止它不是一种选择，但是如果这些趋势持续下去，可能需要谨慎的监管措施。