Amazon.com Inc (AMZN :NASDAQ)

Real Time Stock Quote | Source: NASDAQ Real-Time Last Sale

Extended Hours	287.32 USD Last Trade	0.26 (+0.09%) After Hours Change	69,943 Volume	4:51:58 PM EDT After Hours
	287.06 USD Close Price	-26.12 (-8.34%) Change	18,893,068 Volume	4:00:00 PM EDT

John Jannarone | @jannarone

These days, virtually any underperforming company can come under attack from an activist investor. Could Amazon be the next big target?

DETAILED QUOTE (Delayed)

High Today

293.81

Low Today

284.00

Volume

19.8M

10-Day Avg Volume

4.6M

52-Week High (01/22/14)

408.06

52-Week Low (10/24/14)

284.00

1 Yr % Change (TTM)

-13.59

That was a question raised by some hedge funds that CNBC.com spoke to after the e-commerce company posted disappointing third-quarter results Thursday evening (none of whom wanted to be named). The stock fell 8 percent Friday and is now down 28 percent since the beginning of 2014.

"Investors have been giving this company a pass for like 20 years, the question now is this potentially an activist situation?" said Carol Roth, author of "The Entrepreneur Equation," on CNBC's "Closing Bell."

The depressed stock price has drawn attention because Amazon's problems actually appear fixable. Namely, the company seems to find new ways to spend money every quarter, from developing a smartphone with a 3-D screen to delivering groceries in Brooklyn, New York.

That translates to some ugly numbers. In the third quarter, operating expenses rose 37 percent while sales increased only 20 percent. If expenses were slashed, operating profit could improve dramatically. After all, the company's gross profits look quite healthy, with analysts expecting 25 percent growth in 2014.

Unfortunately, there's an obvious barrier preventing any activist from effecting change: CEO Jeff Bezos. Although Amazon has just one share class with all shareholders getting an equal vote, Bezos has held onto 18 percent of the stock. According to one activist, Bezos probably has enough votes to prevent an agitator from going against him.