阿里巴巴遇冷 亚马逊受宠 Amazon pops Alibaba drops

 　　Jeff Bezos may run around Seattle, war paint daubed on his head, barking orders into his Fire Phone, urging employees to be nasty to each other.

　　杰夫贝佐斯(Jeff Bezos)可能正铆足了劲在西雅图四处活动，为他家的Fire Phone大声吆喝，并鼓励员工互相撕咬。

　　The Amazon founder¹ claims to be running a gentler company than his critics portray². But whatever he’s doing, investors³ like it a lot.

　　这位亚马逊(Amazon)创始人声称，他经营的公司没有批评者描述的那么冷酷。不过，不论他在做的是什么，都深得投资者的欢心。

　　There was great fanfare⁴ in July when Amazon’s market capitalisation surpassed Walmart’s. There was none on Monday when its enterprise value, which discounts cash and includes debt, rose to $251bn, overtaking the supermarket chain to become — for real this time — the world’s most valuable retailer⁵.

　　今年7月，当亚马逊市值超过沃尔玛(Walmart)时，曾引起巨大轰动。而周一的另一则消息却没有引起丝毫的波澜：亚马逊的企业价值（等于市值减去现金、加上债务）攀升至2510亿美元，超过了沃尔玛，成为全球（名副其实的）最有价值的零售商。

　　Earlier this year, its value overtook that of another company whose founder has magnetic appeal: Jack⁶ Ma’s Alibaba. Even though the Chinese ecommerce company enjoys superior revenue growth and fatter margins⁷, its value is sinking. The first anniversary of its initial public offering was on Friday. The shares are below the IPO price and half their high point.

　　今年早些时候，该公司的市值超过了另一家其创始人有着磁石般吸引力的公司：马云的阿里巴巴(Alibaba)。尽管这家中国电子商务企业拥有更高的营收增长率和更丰厚的利润率，它的市值却在不断缩水。上周五是阿里巴巴首次公开招股(IPO)一周年纪念日。该公司股价目前已低于发行价，只有其历史最高价的一半。

　　There are some good reasons for reappraising Alibaba, notably⁸ Chinese economic worries and the slowest revenue growth in three years recorded in August. Yet Alibaba’s return on invested capital is 8 per cent; Amazon’s is minus 3 per cent. Even at a slightly slower pace, Alibaba’s revenue is growing at 40 per cent against Amazon’s 17 per cent. It is Amazon, though, that now commands a premium⁹ valuation: its enterprise value is 20 times next year’s forecast earnings¹⁰ before interest, tax, depreciation¹¹ and amortisation compared with Alibaba at 19 times.

　　重新对阿里巴巴估值不乏充分理由，尤其是围绕中国经济的担忧，以及今年8月录得3年来最慢营收增长。不过，阿里巴巴的投入资本回报率(ROIC)是8%，亚马逊只有-3%。即便营收增速有所放缓，阿里巴巴目前的营收增速也有40%，而亚马逊的这个数字为17%。然而，如今享有估值溢价的却是亚马逊：该公司市值是明年预计息税折旧及摊销前利润(EBITDA)的20倍，而阿里巴巴的这一比例只有19倍。

　　The suspension of disbelief in Alibaba has been punctured¹². A lock-up expired on Monday, enabling large investors (including Mr Ma) to sell. They said they would not. The stock still fell 3 per cent. Its strange governance structure and the precarious¹³ ways in which value trickles¹⁴ to common stockholders are all part of the problem, yet they are nothing new.

　　对阿里巴巴一度中断的怀疑再度恢复。周一，阿里巴巴股票解除禁售，令包括马云在内的该公司大股东能够抛售手中的股票。这些投资者此前表示，他们不会卖。虽然如此，该公司股价仍下跌了3%。阿里巴巴奇特的治理结构，以及其企业价值缓慢回馈普通持股者的方式充满不确定性，都是其股票遇冷的原因，然而这些并不是新近才出现的问题。

　　The worry that Alibaba might disappoint has taken hold; the worry that Amazon might disappoint has — in spite of its lengthy¹⁵ record of doing precisely¹⁶ that — vanished.

　　对阿里巴巴可能令投资者失望的担忧已然扎根，对亚马逊可能令投资者失望的担忧却已经消失——尽管亚马逊长期以来恰恰在令投资者失望。

1 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

2 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

3 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

4 fanfare   

n.喇叭；号角之声；v.热闹地宣布

参考例句：

• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide.这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King.嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

5 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。

6 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

7 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

8 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

9 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

10 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

11 depreciation   

n.价值低落，贬值，蔑视，贬低

参考例句：

• She can't bear the depreciation of the enemy.她受不了敌人的蹂躏。
• They wrote off 500 for depreciation of machinery.他们注销了500镑作为机器折旧费。

12 punctured   

v.在（某物）上穿孔( puncture的过去式和过去分词 )；刺穿（某物）；削弱（某人的傲气、信心等）；泄某人的气

参考例句：

• Some glass on the road punctured my new tyre. 路上的玻璃刺破了我的新轮胎。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A nail on the road punctured the tyre. 路上的钉子把车胎戳穿了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 precarious   

adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的

参考例句：

• Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
• He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家，他过得是朝不保夕的生活。

14 trickles   

n.细流( trickle的名词复数 )；稀稀疏疏缓慢来往的东西v.滴( trickle的第三人称单数 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动

参考例句：

• Trickles of sweat rained down my head and neck. 我颈上头上的汗珠，更同盛雨似的，一颗一颗的钻出来了。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说
• Water trickles through an underground grotto. 水沿着地下岩洞流淌。 来自辞典例句

15 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

16 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。