Amazon Surge Foots the Bill for Miller

Amazon.com (AMZN Quote) is already pushing roses and sappy books, but the online retailer sent Bill Miller's valentine early.

This morning Amazon said it turned a fourth-quarter profit and that it expects to be operating cash-flow positive for 2002. The company's shares, which average a 45% loss over the past three years, rose some 23% on the news. Miller and his colleagues at Baltimore-based Legg Mason are no doubt cheered: They had made far and away the fund world's largest bet on the company.

The upshot: Miller might not be in the money on his Amazon shares, but his thesis that the company would be profitable appears to be starting down the road to Rightsville. That said, there is still plenty for he and the stock's newfound fans to worry about. ...