AMZN - Amazon.com, Inc.
| Previous Close | 2,170.22 |
| Open | 2,173.07 |
| Bid | 2,135.65 x 800 |
| Ask | 2,136.60 x 1400 |
| Day's Range | 2,128.00 - 2,176.79 |
| 52 Week Range | 1,586.57 - 2,185.95 |
| Volume | 2,019,843 |
| Avg. Volume | 3,631,378 |
| Market Cap | 1.066T |
| Beta (5Y Monthly) | 1.62 |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | 93.07 |
| EPS (TTM) | 23.01 |
| Earnings Date | Apr 22, 2020 - Apr 26, 2020 |
| Forward Dividend & Yield | N/A (N/A) |
| Ex-Dividend Date | N/A |
| 1y Target Est | 2,404.29 |
- TechCrunch
Retail optimization startup Teikametrics raises $15M as it expands beyond Amazon and beyond ads
Teikametrics, a startup that helps retailers optimize their online ad spending, has raised $15 million in additional funding. The company launched with the goal of helping Amazon sellers advertise more effectively. More recently, it launched a similar partnership with Walmart.
- Reuters
US STOCKS-Wall Street tumbles as coronavirus fears mount
U.S. stock indexes fell about 1% on Thursday, dragged down by technology heavyweights, as investors fretted over a rise in the cases of coronavirus and its economic impact. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.23-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and for a 1.68-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
- American City Business Journals
After Amazon-inspired brain drain, Arlington's new economic development chief is ready to staff up
A few weeks after taking over as Arlington’s new economic development chief, Telly Tucker’s office in Ballston is still largely empty, save for a few chairs and his Magic Bullet blender tucked away in a corner. It makes for an apt metaphor for Tucker’s new challenge. Tucker is stepping in at Arlington Economic Development just as the department is experiencing a bit of a brain drain, in many ways becoming a victim of its own success.
- MarketWatch
Tesla, gold and the dollar soar—an ‘everything rally’ has some stock-market investors fearing how it all ends
What happens when everything rises all at once? That’s what some investors are scratching their heads about as they look out at the current landscape on Wall Street.
- Zacks
STMP or AMZN: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?
STMP vs. AMZN: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?
- Zacks
Consumer Discretionary ETFs That Hit New All-Time Highs
With the stock market rallying and the economy showing signs of resilience, the consumer discretionary sector is not far behind with many ETFs hitting record highs.
- Zacks
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Microsoft, International Business Machines, Intel, Apple and Amazon.com
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Microsoft, International Business Machines, Intel, Apple and Amazon.com
- Benzinga
Amazon Drops More Logistics Providers, Citing Safety, Performance Issues
Thousands of delivery drivers across the country who work for small and medium-size logistics companies that contract with Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) found out in mid-February they may lose their jobs in April, though Amazon said they will have opportunities for other positions with its partners. On Friday, Transportation Brokerage Specialists Inc. (TBS), headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, became the latest company to file a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice of a mass layoff. According to the TBS letter, it will lay off more than 900 drivers and employees at offices in California, Washington, Arizona and Oregon, after losing its contract with Amazon.
- Benzinga
8 Retail Stocks To Put In Your Cart
The retail sector has been a minefield for investors in the past several years as traditional brick-and-mortar companies attempt to fend off online competition from Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN ) and ...
- MarketWatch
In this wild stock market, some investors favor Tesla and Virgin Galactic over Apple and Amazon
Public service announcement: If you’re an investing novice, you are setting yourself up for a painful lesson.
- MarketWatch
As analysts lower the bar, 2020 earnings will beat — but market risks linger, Goldman forecasts
Goldman Sachs strategists believe corporate earnings will clear a low bar this year, but there are downside risks and margins will come increasingly under pressure.
- Barrons.com
Stamps.com Stock Is Rocketing Higher. It’s E-Commerce, the Amazon Effect, and the USPS.
Shipping solution provider Stamp.com stock is rocketing higher, up more than 30%, in premarket trading. The reasons? It’s all about the e-commercer, the Amazon effect and the USPS.
- MarketWatch
Walmart could run into privacy issues in its efforts to get personal with consumers, analysts say
Walmart talked about the increased use of technology to create a personalized shopping experience during its investor community event.
- MarketWatch
Walmart expects to save $60 million annually on shopping bags
Walmart announced fourth-quarter earnings that missed expectations, and said coronavirus could hurt first-quarter earnings per share.
- Bloomberg
Apple Weighs Letting Users Switch Default iPhone Apps to Rivals
(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. is considering giving rival apps more prominence on iPhones and iPads and opening its HomePod speaker to third-party music services after criticism the company provides an unfair advantage to its in-house products.The technology giant is discussing whether to let users choose third-party web browser and mail applications as their default options on Apple’s mobile devices, replacing the company’s Safari browser and Mail app, according to people familiar with the matter. Since launching the App Store in 2008, Apple hasn’t allowed users to replace pre-installed apps such as these with third-party services. That has made it difficult for some developers to compete, and has raised concerns from lawmakers probing potential antitrust violations in the technology industry.The web browser and mail are two of the most-used apps on the iPhone and iPad. To date, rival browsers like Google Chrome and Firefox and mail apps like Gmail and Microsoft Outlook have lacked the status of Apple’s products. For instance, if a user clicks a web link sent to them on an iPhone, it will automatically open in Safari. Similarly, if a user taps an email address -- say, from a text message or a website -- they’ll be sent to the Apple Mail app with no option to switch to another email program.The Cupertino, California-based company also is considering loosening restrictions on third-party music apps, including its top streaming rival Spotify Technology SA, on HomePods, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing internal company deliberations.Read more: Apple’s Default iPhone Apps Give It Growing Edge Over App Store RivalsApple’s closed system to prohibit users from setting third-party apps as defaults was questioned last year during a hearing of a U.S. House of Representatives antitrust panel. Lawmakers pressed the issue of whether iPhone users can make non-Apple apps their defaults in categories including web browsers, maps, email and music.Being a default app on the world’s best-selling smartphone is valuable because consumers are subtly coaxed and prodded into using this more-established software rather than alternatives. Keeping users tethered to Apple’s services is important to the company as the growth of smartphone demand slows and sales of music, video, cloud storage and other subscriptions make up a greater share of the iPhone maker’s total revenue.An Apple spokesman declined to comment.The company currently pre-installs 38 default apps on iPhones and iPads, Bloomberg News has reported, including the Safari web browser, Maps, Messages and Mail.Last year, Stockholm-based Spotify submitted an antitrust complaint to the European Union, saying Apple squeezes rival services by imposing a 30% cut for subscriptions made via the App Store. Apple responded that Spotify wants the benefits of the App Store without paying for them. As part of its complaint, Spotify singled out the inability to run on the HomePod and become the default music player in Siri, Apple’s voice-activated digital assistant.Now, Apple is working to allow third-party music services to run directly on the HomePod, said the people. Spotify and other third-party music apps can stream from an iPhone or iPad to the HomePod via Apple’s AirPlay technology. That’s a much more cumbersome experience than streaming directly from the speaker.Opening the HomePod to additional music service may be a boon for the product. The speaker has lagged behind rivals like the Amazon Echo in functionality since being introduced in 2018 and owns less than 5% of the smart-speaker market, according to an estimate last week from Strategy Analytics.Also under discussion at Apple is whether to let users set competing music services as the default with Siri on iPhones and iPads, the people said. Currently, Apple Music is the default music app. If the company changes the arrangement, a user would be able to play music from Spotify or Pandora automatically when asking Siri for a song.The potential changes to third-party apps on Apple’s devices and the HomePod are still under discussion or early development, and final decisions haven’t been made, the people said. If Apple chooses to go forward with the moves, they could appear as soon as later this year via the upcoming iOS 14 software update and a corresponding HomePod software update, the people said.Apple typically announces major new iPhone and iPad software versions in June, and releases them in September around the launch of new iPhone models. For this year’s update, Apple is also planning to focus on performance and quality because the current version, iOS 13, has been riddled with bugs that upset some users.To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Gurman in Los Angeles at mgurman1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net, Andrew Pollack, Robin AjelloFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
War With Netflix and Disney Looms for India’s Top Local Streamer
(Bloomberg) -- As global streaming giants Netflix Inc. and Walt Disney Co. spend millions of dollars to grab viewers in India, a country that could become their biggest overseas market, a homegrown rival is preparing to defend its turf.Zee5, the top domestic streaming platform set up by India’s biggest television broadcaster, is betting on local content to fend off big-spending rivals, Chief Executive Officer Tarun Katial said in an interview. The over-the-top, or OTT, service is playing to its advantage by adding more local-language shows and lower-price options to gain market share, he said.“International OTTs have neither legacy nor library with depth,” Katial said at his office in Mumbai, adding that Zee5 has produced more than 100 original shows in local languages, at least 10 times more than any rival.“We can win this content battle.”Zee5, which started in 2018, is among dozens of streaming platforms including Amazon.com Inc. locked in a race for Indian users, a market that Boston Consulting Group estimates will reach about $5 billion in 2023. With China closed to foreign streaming services, India has become a battleground for global streaming brands, with an emphasis on delivering films and TV shows to smartphone users expected to number 850 million in two years.After amassing 61 million active monthly users in its first 15 months in India, Katial says Zee5 has little choice but to keep producing new shows at even faster rates. The platform aims to add between 70 and 80 original shows over the coming year, while making 15 direct-to-digital movies for release in 2021.Representatives for Netflix and Disney’s Hotstar platform in India declined to comment.There are 22 official languages in India, creating a broad battlefield for niche audiences.“It’s a strategy to move away from fighting in the fiercely competitive segment of Hindi or English,” Bhupendra Tiwary, an analyst at ICICIdirect, said of Zee5’s local-content push. “Zee is creating its own space in this war zone where it sees more opportunity.”Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., part of the Subhash Chandra-led Essel Group, is increasing its investment in streaming, even though the broadcaster has seen its market value plunge on concern the group’s debt had grown too large. Chandra, who opened India’s first amusement park and brought satellite television to the country, has had to sell his stake in Zee, while staying on as a board member.“We are completely insulated from the financial concern which our parent group went through last year,” Katial said. He declined to say how much the company was planning to spend on growth.Zee Entertainment shares gained 2% as of 2:36 p.m. in Mumbai trading Thursday. Zee5, the streaming platform, is planning its local-language expansion just as some of its global rivals are pushing further into India.Disney PushDisney earlier this month said it will introduce its Disney+ streaming service in India through its Hotstar platform on March 29, at the beginning of the Indian Premier League cricket season. Hotstar, which has said it has 300 million active monthly users, has relied on India’s most popular sport to draw users after spending big to secure the rights.Disney is also re-branding the Hotstar VIP and Premium subscription tiers to Disney+ Hotstar to underline its global brand.Netflix, the world’s largest streaming platform by paid subscribers, has said it intends to sign on 100 million subscribers in India, almost 25 times the customer base it had in the country as of this year. Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings said during a visit to the country in December that Netflix intends to spend 30 billion rupees ($419 million) over 2019 and 2020 to produce more local content.Netflix’s “Sacred Games” series, a local original, has drawn Indian viewers globally, the company has said. “Lust Stories,” a Hindi-language anthology of short films, released in June 2018, also drew attention.Zee5 has said its original “Rangbaaz Phirse” and “The Final Call” series are hits, along with “Auto Shankar,” a Tamil-language show.Price WarAt the same time, competitors are paring fees to draw subscribers in a country used to free services including Google’s YouTube, while paying little for bandwidth via mobile phone plans.Last year, Netflix slashed prices by as much as half in India for subscribers that commit to at least three months. Most of the country’s streaming services, including Apple TV+, Amazon Prime and Disney’s Hotstar have also offered discount deals this year and subscriptions at prices well below those in other markets.Zee5 has begun offering some region-specific packages at 49 rupees a month or 499 rupees a year to attract more viewers, said Katial. That compares with the standard packages at 99 rupees a month or 999 rupees a year.At the same time, Zee5 is planning to add 90-second videos to its platform to meet demand and compete with the likes of Beijing-based ByteDance Inc.’s TikTok, a platform that is growing fast globally among younger users. That effort will start “soon,” Katial said.(Updates with Zee shares in 11th paragraph)\--With assistance from Ragini Saxena.To contact the reporter on this story: P R Sanjai in Mumbai at psanjai@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Sam Nagarajan at samnagarajan@bloomberg.net, Dave McCombsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- MarketWatch
Europe unveils its new digital strategy. Here’s what it means for Facebook, Google owner Alphabet, and Amazon
Facebook, Google owner Alphabet, and Amazon will be affected by these new restrictions set out today by the European Commission to restrict the use of artificial intelligence and data.
- American City Business Journals
Amazon ends delivery firm contracts, resulting in thousands of layoffs
Amazon is looking to move thousands of laid-off drivers to jobs with its other partner delivery firms.
- Reuters
Audio book streamer Storytel sees strong growth ahead as Q4 losses grow
Swedish audio book streaming group Storytel on Thursday forecast continued strong growth in streaming revenues and paying subscribers in the first quarter as it reported bigger fourth-quarter losses than in the previous year. Storytel, which operates in 20 countries and is currently loss-making due to heavy spending on an international expansion drive, made a quarterly loss before tax of 104 million crowns, compared with a 79 million loss in the year-earlier quarter.
- Reuters
Pacino turns Nazi hunter in TV series debut for Amazon
In a screen career spanning more than five decades, it has taken Al Pacino until now to act in a television series. The series, about a band of Nazi hunters in New York in the 1970s, is inspired by a true story - a "love letter" to the show creator's late grandmother who survived Holocaust.
- Reuters
CORRECTED-Walmart's struggling Japan unit finally delivers with online grocery growth
Walmart Inc might finally have found the sweet spot in Japan's food market with a fast-growing venture ranked third in a nascent online grocery sector, as the brick-and-mortar stores it bought into two decades ago continue their search for profit. The barely year-old tie-up between the U.S. supermarket chain's Seiyu and local e-commerce firm Rakuten Inc clocked 30% sales growth for late October through December versus the same period a year earlier when Seiyu was going it alone, said Rakuten Seiyu NetSuper Chief Executive Tamae Takeda.
- Zacks
3 ETFs to Profit from Explosive Growth of Cloud Computing
Here is what investors need to know about exponential growth in cloud computing and the three ETFs in the space.
- Reuters
Netflix CEO's new book to shed light on streaming giant's work culture
Netflix Inc Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings has written a book based on interviews with current employees, which sheds light on the streaming giant's radical management culture and the controversial principles at the heart of the company's psyche. Hastings co-wrote "No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention" with Erin Meyer, the author of "The Culture Map", detailing how company culture transformed Netflix from a U.S. DVD service to a global streaming pioneer, according to a press release. The book is expected to hit shelves on May 12 and details Hastings' corporate philosophy and set of management principles, as well as stories from his own career.
- Zacks
Tech Daily: FB Content Moderation & IRS Lawsuit, AMZN Fights ORCL on JEDI, AMD Epyc in GCP, More
Facebook's content moderation plan, its IRS lawsuit, Amazon's defense in JEDI, Google Cloud deploying AMD Epyc and other stories are covered here.
