Literally two posts above yours, the one your parent is replying to, are the words “legally obligated to put profit ahead of anything else.”
Re:Email from Jeff Bezos to employees
by wizzwizz4 on Wednesday February 03, 2021 @05:55AM
(#26012518)
Hmm. I could argue that technically there're sometimes contracts with investors, but that's not about public trading; they probably just didn't understand where the obligation comes from.
Re:Email from Jeff Bezos to employees
by sokoloff on Wednesday February 03, 2021 @07:26AM
(#26012998)
To clarify: I don’t believe that companies are legally obligated to maximize profits.
I do believe that there are people who claim that companies have that legal obligation, which is what you said you’d not observed.
It's odd to claim companies are obligated to maximize profit in a thread about Amazon, whose retail operation isn't profitable and basically exists because Bezos hypnotized investors into giving him free money forever.
The shareholders want profit maximised, and with that end, decide upon the board of directors, who decide upon the CEO. If the CEO does not maximise profits, the CEO will not remain the CEO. Therefore, the CEOs of (publicly-traded) companies are obliged to maximise profits – those who do not feel such an obligation are not CEOs.