Respond to the information below by expanding on the already provided information.

After observing Amazon's financial reports between 2021 and 2022, it appears that Amazon has the desire to increase its equity. Part of this increase in equity was generated through the repurchase of stock and the large common stock split that was announced in 2022.

1. Amazon has made repurchases of stock declared as treasury stock in the amount of $6,000 million in 2022, which is roughly 3 times the amount repurchased in the previous year. The repurchase of stocks contributed to an increase of $2 million worth of common stock from 2021 to 2022.

1. In May of 2022, Amazon issued a 20-for-1 common stock split while equally increasing the quantity of authorized common stock. The stock split resulted in an increase in shares which were reclassified as common stock rather than additional paid-in capital. Buying back 20 stocks for each 1 issued increases the marketability of the stocks by lowering the par value price, which is enticing to new investors (Spiceland, et. al., 2019). The authors also point out that shareholders are the real owners of the company, therefore by regaining stocks, Amazon is able to maintain more control of the company. If Amazon had done a 2-for-1 split, Amazon would not have regained as much equity (Spiceland, et. al., 2019).

1. When the board of directors declare dividends, retained earnings are reduced and a liability is recorded (Spiceland, et. al., 2019). The authors explain that the date of record is a specified date at which time it is determined who will receive dividends. Those who own stock prior to the record date will receive dividends (Spiceland, et. al., 2023). The authors explain that the distribution of cash dividends decreases cash but increases retained earnings, and both elements appear on the balance sheet. Amazon did not issue dividends in 2022. If Amazon had, their cash would be reduced by the dividend payment, decreasing their assets, and their retained earnings would be increased an equal amount, increasing their equity (Spiceland, et. al., 2023).