This is semantics. If I make $100 on a $60 spend, and then choose, like Amazon, to reinvest the $40 in the knowledge that it will improve efficiency next year, my "profit" is technically $0, but my company is not worth a lot more than $40.

If like MoviePass, I spend $100 (of borrowed money) on revenues of $60, with no clear explanation of how I've added $40 of value to the company, that's a bit of a red flag. Saying "I'll figure it out eventually" is a bit touch and go.