On the eve of the highly anticipated performance release, Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US) was seized by the German antitrust agency for $70 million in profits.

The German antitrust regulatory authority stated on Thursday that the American cloud computing and e-commerce leader Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US) must stop enforcing price controls on retailers on its German marketplace platform, and the antitrust authority also seized 59 million euros (approximately 70 million US dollars) from the large US tech company, which is equivalent to the cumulative profit that Amazon.com, Inc. has gained through this illegal practice. Germany demanded that Amazon.com, Inc. cancel its price control policy and seized the company's 70 million US dollars just before the company is set to disclose its fourth-quarter earnings report. Wall Street investment firms have high hopes for Amazon.com, Inc.'s performance data and future outlook, hoping that the company will announce strong e-commerce sales and cloud computing growth data to boost the recent bullish sentiment in the software stocks and the entire tech sector. Several institutions are optimistic about Amazon.com, Inc.'s performance and prospects, believing that the tech giant is likely to disclose strong growth in AI technology on the AWS cloud computing platform, providing guidance on better-than-expected progress in AI-related businesses. The Federal Cartel Office of Germany announced on Thursday that it had informed Amazon.com, Inc. that the company's pricing policy for retailers violated rules on digital economy and fair competition in Germany. According to the Federal Cartel Office of Germany, if product prices are considered too high, Amazon.com, Inc. must either remove the products from its platform or not display them; the office added that such a mechanism is only allowed in exceptional cases such as price manipulation and can only be implemented within the framework and scope of guidelines issued by regulatory authorities. For a long time, Amazon.com, Inc. has faced direct and fierce competition with retailers from around the world on its globally largest e-commerce platform. "There is a risk that the price levels on Amazon.com, Inc.'s exclusive trading platform will be entirely controlled according to Amazon.com, Inc.'s ideas and will be used to compete with other German retailers in the online sector outside of Amazon.com, Inc.," said Andreas Mundt, Chairman of the antitrust authority, in a statement on Thursday. "For the affected retailers, interference in pricing may mean they can no longer cover their costs and may be forced to exit the e-commerce platforms they previously operated on." Like other US tech giants, Amazon.com, Inc. is facing increasingly strict antitrust scrutiny from global regulatory agencies due to its business practices and dominant position in the e-commerce market, including in Germany and the EU. According to data from the Federal Cartel Office of Germany, approximately 60% of online retail sales in Germany are deployed and completed through Amazon.com, Inc.'s e-commerce platform. The American tech giant based in Seattle stated in a statement that it will appeal the "unprecedented" ruling and will continue to operate as usual to ensure that customers and sales partners are not affected by any disruptions. "Amazon.com, Inc. will be the only retailer in Germany forced to prominently display to customers the lack of competitive pricing and market pricing control," said Rocco Bruniger, Head of Business at Amazon.com, Inc. in Germany, in a statement. "This is meaningless for customers, sales partners, or market competition." He added that the decision reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of how competitive retail operates in Germany, stifles innovation, and fractures the EU single market. Bruniger stated that Amazon.com, Inc. has clear and fair pricing guidelines, allowing retailers to freely and independently set prices. This is the first time the German antitrust regulatory authority has exercised its power to seize profits obtained through improper behavior from a large tech company. This power was granted as part of a comprehensive legislation package for 2023, and the regulator stated that it may confiscate more illicit funds as violations continue. Chairman Mundt of the German antitrust regulatory authority stated in a declaration that Amazon.com, Inc.'s current pricing policy does not ensure that customers find low-priced products and pointed out that the company could use other methods. He added that the issue lies in Amazon.com, Inc. setting price controls at its discretion and the lack of transparency in these parameters.