[ketzo]

A nonprofit wouldn't have to distribute profits to charity. It just can't distribute profits to private or public shareholders (because it can't have them). A nonprofit is obligated to reinvest any earnings towards its mission.

Not remotely an expert, this is just my basic understanding. "Nonprofit" is a pretty abused term.

[rvnx]

Not-profit just means it doesn't have shareholders in a traditional sense. But it can have real-estate, it can pay very high salaries, travel, distribute significant bonuses, buy expensive hardware, etc.

[hotstickyballs]

TIL Amazon was basically a non profit

[O__________O]

No, Amazon has shareholders, nonprofits do not.

[isubkhankulov]

The use of the word “basically” means that the previous commenter is saying that Amazon operated like a non-profit because it re-invested the vast majority of its profits.

[O__________O]

Understand and disagree, since there’s a fundamental difference between Amazon and a nonprofit — both in their intended missions and the literal outcomes.