That is a fundamental change in their business model. Retail businesses have two fundamental elements; price and service. Amazon's Prime membership is part of their extraordinary service, as is their return policy (in general), and the convenience of ordering online.
If Amazon elevates prices a significant amount (what investors seem to be expecting), then they cut out one of their fundamentals.
Now there's a lot to be said that investors aren't looking that far ahead. My personal belief is that most investors these days are looking for stocks and bonds based on the greater fool theory, as opposed to investing with the expectation of earning a future stream of money. Growth stocks are particularly prone to the GFT, and "investing" might not be the best term to describe what buyers of AMZN are doing.
If Amazon elevates prices a significant amount (what investors seem to be expecting), then they cut out one of their fundamentals.
Now there's a lot to be said that investors aren't looking that far ahead. My personal belief is that most investors these days are looking for stocks and bonds based on the greater fool theory, as opposed to investing with the expectation of earning a future stream of money. Growth stocks are particularly prone to the GFT, and "investing" might not be the best term to describe what buyers of AMZN are doing.