AMZN - Amazon.com, Inc.
1,807.95 +0.11 (0.01%)
After hours: 5:08PM EDT
| Previous Close | 1,839.34 |
| Open | 1,824.02 |
| Bid | 1,807.31 x 1000 |
| Ask | 1,808.19 x 800 |
| Day's Range | 1,800.43 - 1,825.18 |
| 52 Week Range | 1,307.00 - 2,035.80 |
| Volume | 3,310,828 |
| Avg. Volume | 3,284,709 |
| Market Cap | 894.259B |
| Beta (3Y Monthly) | 1.62 |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | 75.00 |
| EPS (TTM) | 24.10 |
| Earnings Date | Oct 23, 2019 - Oct 28, 2019 |
| Forward Dividend & Yield | N/A (N/A) |
| Ex-Dividend Date | N/A |
| 1y Target Est | 2,295.36 |
- Yahoo Finance Video
Amazon is boosting profitable products
Amazon has changed its search algorithm in a way that boosts products that are more profitable for the company. Instead of showing customers the most relevant and best selling items, it now shows the ones that are most profitable. Yahoo Finance's On The Move panel discusses.
- Zacks
What's Next for Apple (AAPL) Stock: Holiday Shopping, iPhone 11, Apple TV+
Associate Stock Strategist Ben Rains dives into Apple's (AAPL) new iPhone 11s, as well as its streaming TV service and video game push. The episode also breaks down what's next for Apple stock and why the tech firm looks strong heading into the holiday shopping season. - Full-Court Finance
- Bloomberg
IBM CEO Sees Amazon and Microsoft as Cloud Allies, Not Rivals
(Bloomberg) -- In IBM’s vision of cloud computing, Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. will be allies rather than rivals.Chief Executive Officer Ginni Rometty is betting on the hybrid cloud, which lets IBM offer services on corporate customers’ cloud-based servers as well as on third-party clouds operated by the likes of Amazon and Microsoft. International Business Machines Corp. has traditionally viewed these cloud giants as direct competitors, but it now aims to partner with them by supporting clients as they shift sensitive databases on to the cloud, regardless of which provider they use.Armonk, New York-based IBM has gone through many transformations in its 108-year history: shifting from punched card tabulating equipment to mainframe computers and now to the cloud.“This company has had to be reinvented many times,” Rometty said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s CEO Spotlight show. “It’s something many other companies have yet to face. It is one thing to put out new products, but it is something else when the competitive landscape attacks your core business models and you have to develop a new one.”After struggling to keep up in the cloud market for more than a decade, IBM has switched to a hybrid cloud strategy, cementing its future with last year’s $34 billion acquisition of Red Hat, the Raleigh, North Carolina-based open source software provider.In the interview with BTV, Rometty said Red Hat would continue to operate as a separate and distinct business unit within IBM. “They must remain committed and neutral. They have to be on all our competitor’s platforms,” she said. “You have competition and cooperation -- and in this case Red Hat is a platform that goes across all of them.”To contact the reporters on this story: Olivia Carville in New York at ocarville1@bloomberg.net;Caroline Hyde in London at chyde3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at jward56@bloomberg.net, Molly Schuetz, Robin AjelloFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- American City Business Journals
Reporter's notebook: Chasing down Jeff Bezos in Nashville
We got a tip Tuesday that Bezos was visiting Music City last week, but we didn't know when or where. Here's how the next 24 hours went down.
- Market Realist
Why Amazon Web Services Is Expanding in Germany
Amazon is taking significant strides in cloud computing. AWS has set up a new unit in Munich and will roll out almost 500 new permanent contracts.
- Market Realist
Facebook to Enter $1 Trillion Indian Market with WhatsApp
Facebook (FB) plans to launch its WhatsApp payment service in India before the year wraps up, according to WhatsApp India head Abhijit Bose.
- Market Realist
Vanguard, BlackRock, State Street Buy Amazon Stock
The Vanguard Group, State Street Global Advisors, and BlackRock Institutional Trust Company raised their holdings in Amazon (AMZN) stock in Q2 2019.
- Investor's Business Daily
Is Amazon Stock A Buy Right Now? Here's What Earnings, Charts Show
Amazon stock is edging closer to a record high that would place its market valuation above $1 trillion, as the e-commerce giant keeps pushing into new markets with disruptive thunder.
- InvestorPlace
Growing Data Center Network Makes Facebook Stock a ‘Buy’
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) stock is the little brother of the "Cloud Czars." With a market cap of $534 billion, Facebook trades at 31.7 times last year's earnings. This is helped by a balance sheet that showed $41 billion in cash and no debt in June, even while the company spends capital at a $15 billion per year rate.Source: rvlsoft / Shutterstock.com Facebook's rate of capital spending growth is extraordinary. The company's capital budget was $293 million in 2009. In 2018 it was almost $14 billion.Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) gets primary credit for creating the cloud concept. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has turned the cloud into a market. But no company has been as dedicated to pushing cloud technology as Facebook. Its Open Compute Project, launched in 2011, continues to push cloud costs down.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsYet none of the Cloud Czars -- not Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), not Alphabet, not Amazon, not even Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) -- is as hated as Facebook. Blame the Free WebMany have come to believe that Facebook is partially responsible for the election of President Donald Trump. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg later testified that he believes Facebook did not "do enough" to prevent disinformation and fake news articles from swaying election results.While Alphabet is actively pushing beyond its free web roots, Facebook is doubling down on all things free. As politicians call for the breaking up of the free web's giants, Facebook is choosing to more tightly integrate its ancillary services. * 7 Tech Stocks You Should Avoid Now This doesn't mean Facebook is ignoring the threats. In July, Facebook agreed to pay $5 billion to settle a Federal Trade Commission investigation into its privacy practices. In the aftermath of this fine, Facebook is changing its default settings on photos, so it won't automatically use facial recognition software to tag photos. This will ease the automatic collection of biometric data. Facebook is also considering hiding the likes on its news feed and is meeting with government officials trying to protect the 2020 election.In general, however, Facebook is showing government the same blank, bland face Zuckerberg showed in Congressional testimony last year. It tells the government what it thinks lawmakers want to hear but otherwise does what it wants. Exasperated, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden recently suggested that Zuckerberg belongs in prison. The Facebook FightbackUnder the surface, Facebook is fighting back.It is paying for a new series of fact-based media templates in Europe as part of its Facebook Watch platform. It has launched pop-up windows on its social media platforms to counter misinformation about vaccines. Facebook has also issued a white paper on data portability -- the notion that a user should be able to move their data from Facebook to another platform -- in response to growing demand.Facebook is often used for phishing. Picture friends' faces popping up through Messenger, earnestly asking for money or personal information. I have personally faced several of these phishing attempts and twice almost gave hackers hundreds of dollars as a result.Mainly, Facebook continues to treat political problems as technical ones. After this summer's Messenger Kids breach, which exposed thousands of kids to unauthorized users, its response was a technically focused letter.The test of whether this attempt to fight back is working may be Libra, its blockchain project. Libra seeks to replicate services already available from Chinese rivals like Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) and Tencent (OTCMKTS:TCEHY). While trying to get support, Facebook has said blockchain technology will protect payments and lower costs. The European Union is already investigating Libra to see if it harms its competitors, even before its launch. FB Stock's Secret SauceWhile there are analysts who think Facebook should double down on services, say by buying Yelp (NYSE:YELP), it is Facebook's data centers and its cloud network that hold the key to its future.That network now includes two data centers in Europe and an 11-story center in Singapore, all built with the low-cost standards created by the Open Compute Project.Analysts will continue to look at Facebook through the front door of political controversy and privacy policies. They need to look instead at the back door of Facebook's data center footprint.If the former is too deep and technical for you, Facebook is a buy.Dana Blankenhorn is a financial and technology journalist. He is the author of the environmental story, Bridget O'Flynn and the Bear, available at the Amazon Kindle store. Write him at danablankenhorn@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @danablankenhorn. As of this writing he owned shares in AAPL, MSFT AMZN and BABA. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 10 Recession-Resistant Services Stocks to Buy * 7 Hot Penny Stocks to Consider Now * 7 Tech Stocks You Should Avoid Now The post Growing Data Center Network Makes Facebook Stock a 'Buy' appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- American City Business Journals
Amazon expanding in Chicago's Loop, adding 400 new tech jobs
Amazon.com Inc. said it will expand its downtown Chicago office by 70,000 square feet and add 400 new jobs in cloud computing, advertising, and business development. “We’re excited to create more opportunity in Chicago – a city with terrific talent and a culture of innovation. Amazon established its Chicago office in 2016, and in 2017 it announced it was doubling its corporate office presence in Chicago at 227 W. Monroe St. Now it's doubling its Chicago size again.
- Benzinga
Amazon Shifts Two Freighters From Atlas Air To ATSG Operation
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) has transferred flying responsibility for two leased Boeing 767-300 freighters from Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: AAWW) to Air Transport International, a charter airline owned by Air Transport Services Group (ATSG), Amazon and ATSG officials confirmed. Both companies lease and operate planes on behalf of the Amazon Air network, which the e-commerce giant launched in recent years to better meet one- and two-day delivery commitments for Prime members. ATSG spokesman Paul Cunningham confirmed in an email that ATI is getting the new business.
- Zacks
Stock Market News For Sep 16, 2019
Benchmarks closed mixed on Friday as sentiments around trade war improved and August retail sales grew faster than expected.
- Business Wire
Altice USA to Launch Amazon Prime Video on Altice One
Altice USA (ATUS) and Amazon (AMZN) today announce plans to launch Amazon Prime Video on the Altice One entertainment and connectivity platform, providing seamless access to the entire Prime Video catalog, including Amazon Originals like 2019 Emmy-winning The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Emmy-winning Fleabag and Emmy-nominated Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and new releases Carnival Row, Undone and Late Night to Altice’s Optimum and Suddenlink customers across the country.
- Barrons.com
Airlines, Shipping Stocks Fall as Oil Soars. The Biggest Loser Could Be Amazon.
Oil futures have soared in response to the attacks on Saudi Arabia, and gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel are key cost items for transport companies.
- InvestorPlace
We Need to Get Serious About the Sustainability of Shopify Stock’s Growth
If there was any doubt to the power of Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) and its e-commerce business, SHOP stock removed it all. At a time when we have so many questions about the viability of the domestic and global economies, SHOP represents the bright beacon of hope. Since the start of the year, shares have jumped an astonishing 146%.Source: Beyond The Scene / Shutterstock.com Even more remarkable, Shopify stock had slowed down noticeably last year. Once the dust settled on a volatile end to 2018, shares of the upstart e-commerce firm were only up 36%. That gave ammunition to the bears -- including yours truly -- to criticize the company's business model. At the time, it also seemed like the bubble was bursting, given that SHOP stock skyrocketed 133% in 2017.Of course, I was dead wrong about Shopify stock. Part of the reason why shares have done so remarkably well in 2019 was due to the fundamentals, the very thing that bears have criticized. For example, in the company's most recent second-quarter earnings report, management knocked it out of the park.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsIn terms of per-share profitability, SHOP delivered earnings of 14 cents per share. That figure easily surpassed analysts' consensus call for earnings-per-share of 2 cents. On the revenue front, Shopify rang up $362 million, besting consensus estimates for $350 million. Not surprisingly, SHOP stock flew substantially higher on the news.Additionally, the granularity was also very positive in Q2. For instance, gross merchandise volume (GMV) hit $13.8 billion, shooting Merchant Solutions revenue up 56% year-over-year to $153 million. Also, the number of merchants is over 800,000 (although Shopify didn't specify in their Q2 summary). * 10 Recession-Resistant Services Stocks to Buy All in all, that's tremendous news for Shopify stock, right? Not so fast. SHOP Stock Is a Deceptively Attractive InvestmentOn the surface, it seems you can't lose with Shopify stock. For one thing, it's levered to the broader e-commerce revolution that drove up names like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). More importantly, they're demonstrating that more merchants are boarding the Shopify train.For the bulls, the below chart represents one of many reasons why they're excited about SHOP stock. Whether you're talking about the price of shares or corporate revenue or GMV and merchant count, several metrics are exercising the positive end of the vertical scale. Click to EnlargeBut while it's crucial to have the right numbers moving higher, the reality is that context matters. And this is where some of the optimistic narrative for SHOP stock dies down for me.While Wall Street toasted Shopify stock for the underlying company producing another strong earnings report, I was left wondering what they were talking about. Principally, I don't see the same sustainable growth story that has tickled the suits covering the e-commerce firm.Let's break down what we actually have here. Over the trailing year since Q2 2019, Shopify merchants have generated GMV of $49.7 billion. Although I don't have the actual merchant figure, I'm going to conservatively estimate that they have 870,000 stores. That gives me an average annual GMV per merchant of $57,126.That's probably a bit on the high end. For instance, in 2014, annual GMV per merchant was $26,061. A year later, this metric increased to $31,399. Between 2016 and 2017, GMV per merchant averaged just under $42,000. Last year, the stat registered $50,122. Click to EnlargeMy question is, what business can survive on gross sales of $50,000 a year? In the U.S., the median household income is $56,516.You're better off working for a living, which means the rally in SHOP stock is probably not sustainable. Follow the LogicOf course, calculating averages is merely an arithmetic exercise. In reality, we know that merchants can't live off of $50,000 a year. Just off the top of my head, I can think of overhead expenses and inventory outlays. These and other costs and expenses can really start eating into profits in a hurry. * 7 Hot Penny Stocks to Consider Now Logically, then, we know that Shopify gets the bulk of its GMVs from its top-tier, high-level merchants. We're talking about the names that management always brags about in their quarterly summaries, such as Unilever (NYSE:UL), Kylie Cosmetics, Allbirds, and MVMT.What about the other 869,996 merchants? Well, most of them will fail because they have to. Mathematically, if the lion's share of GMVs are produced by a handful of elite organizations, that leaves very little for everybody else. And that means, revenue sources like Merchant Solutions are threatened because they could drop off as the merchants do.Plus, if we have a recession, it's game over. There's no way that merchants making far less than $50,000 a year can compete with the scale of big-box retailers like Walmart (NYSE:WMT) or Target (NYSE:TGT).Don't get me wrong: SHOP stock can get interesting at a lower valuation. But right now, it has simply gotten well ahead of itself.As of this writing, Josh Enomoto did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 10 Big IPO Stocks From 2019 to Watch * 7 Discount Retail Stocks to Buy for a Recession * 7 Stocks to Buy Benefiting From Millennial Money The post We Need to Get Serious About the Sustainability of Shopify Stock's Growth appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- Zacks
Retail-Apparel & Shoes Industry Outlook: Prospects Galore
Retail-Apparel & Shoes Industry Outlook: Prospects Galore
- InvestorPlace
The 2 Big Reasons to Embrace Recent Strength in Kroger Stock
For the first time in a long time, shares of America's largest grocery chain, Kroger (NYSE:KR), are showing signs of meaningful strength. Specifically, Kroger stock is up nearly 20% over the past two months, marking the equity's best two-month stretch in over a year.Source: Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com Is this rally the real deal, and the beginning of a secular rebound in Kroger stock? Or is it just a head-fake that will ultimately end in KR stock resuming its long-term downtrend?I think the former for two big reasons.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsFirst, the fundamentals underlying KR stock are very healthy and are only getting better. Additionally, the markets are undervaluing shares. Second, improving optics surrounding KR stock support continued robust demand for shares for the foreseeable future. * 7 Discount Retail Stocks to Buy for a Recession As such, I'm embracing this rally in Kroger stock. I don't think it's over. On the contrary, I think it's still in the first few innings. Changing Grocery LandscapeBefore we get into the bull case for Kroger stock, we must acknowledge the challenging environment for grocers.There are big concerns out there that grocery stores are going the way of movie rental stores as Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Walmart (NYSE:WMT), and Target (NYSE:TGT) make big pushes into the space. The concerns are legitimate.For several years, Amazon, Walmart, and Target have been aggressively pushing into the grocery market. The traditional grocery space has declined substantially in market share in the past few decades. Additionally, traditional grocery supermarkets have dropped 2.5% in market share last year. The Fundamental Case for Kroger StockHowever, KR stock may be a distinct case. Over the past three years, Kroger has only reported one negative comparable sales growth quarter.In other words, as Kroger's competition has beefed up over the past few years, Kroger has also responded aggressively. The company has continued to fire off positive growth quarters. Sure, margins are taking hit because the company is having to lower prices to compete with Walmart's and Target's reduced prices. However, Kroger still maintains a viable ace up its sleeve.Why? Because grocery shopping is something consumers like to do in-person at a place they trust. This is, after all, not something you are putting on your body like a shirt. It's stuff you are putting in your body.Therefore, consumers want to buy that stuff where they can see and touch the products prior to purchase. That's a big advantage to the online sales channels developed by Amazon, Walmart and Target.As such, in the big picture, Kroger will continue to grow alongside the stable growth U.S. grocery industry. That implies healthy low single digit revenue growth for the foreseeable future. Margins are starting to stabilize and should fully stabilize over the next few quarters. Buybacks will remain in play. Net-net, Kroger projects as a mid-single digit profit grower in the long run.That puts earnings per share squarely around $3 by 2025. Based on a market average 16-times forward earnings multiple and a 10% discount rate, that equates to a 2019 price target for KR stock of about $30. The Optics Are Also ImprovingSecond, the optics surrounding Kroger stock are similarly improving, and provide support for further upside over the next few months.Long story short, we are seeing a massive shift in equity markets from momentum stocks to value stocks. As recession fears increased throughout the summer of 2019, investors piled into momentum stocks that don't require a good economy to go higher (since they have secular tailwinds), and ditched value stocks that do require a good economy to go higher.But over the past month or so, those recession fears have backed off. As they have, investors have booked profits on their momentum stock winners, and bought the dip in economically sensitive value stocks like KR.Going forward, the economic outlook should continue to improve, as U.S.-China trade tensions ease and central banks globally inject sizable stimulus into the economy. As the economic outlook does improve, investors will continue to buy into economically sensitive value stocks, especially since these stocks aren't pressured by the long end of the yield curve moving higher.Consequently, over the next few months, investors will continue to be attracted to Kroger stock because it's cheap in an environment where cheap should work with the economy in rebound mode. Bottom Line on KR StockKroger stock is solid value stock that's breaking out from multi-year lows. It looks like this rebound bid has legs, meaning investors would be wise to embrace -- not run away from -- the recent strength in this beaten up grocery stock.As of this writing, Luke Lango was long KR. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 10 Big IPO Stocks From 2019 to Watch * 7 Discount Retail Stocks to Buy for a Recession * 7 Stocks to Buy Benefiting From Millennial Money The post The 2 Big Reasons to Embrace Recent Strength in Kroger Stock appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- InvestorPlace
8 Small-Cap Stocks to Buy for Big-Time Growth Potential
Editor's note: This story was previously published in July 2019. It has since been updated and republished.The concern about investing in growth stocks usually comes down to valuation. Stocks with significant growth potential usually have a multiple to match. One way around that problem is to invest in small-cap stocks, where the growth stories may not be quite as well known and the valuations may not be quite as stretched.In some cases, small-cap stocks come with more risk; but in most cases, small caps offer more potential rewards.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips * 7 Tech Stocks You Should Avoid Now Here are eight small-cap stocks to buy due to significant growth opportunities. Each of these small-cap companies have valuations that lend themselves to significant upside if those opportunities are captured. AppFolio (APPF)Source: Pavel Kapysh / Shutterstock.com AppFolio Inc (NASDAQ:APPF) offers the best, and worst, of small-cap growth investing. On the positive side, revenue from AppFolio's software for property managers is growing nicely. The company's total revenue jumped about 40% last yearThe primary concern here is valuation. APPF trades at over 17 tines revenue on an enterprise basis. That's a big number in any market. It's also a notable premium to its closest peer, RealPage (NASDAQ:RP).Still, there's a reason to see more upside. AppFolio has turned profitable, and its margins should expand significantly going forward. The company's MyCase software for law offices offers another growth driver for AppFolio sales. Both software products drive exactly the kind of "sticky," recurring revenue investors are looking for in the software space.Again, valuation isn't perfect. But with earnings-per-share likely to clear 75 cents by the end of the decade, it's not quite as extreme as headline multiples would suggest. With AppFolio's growth prospects and potential as a takeout target, there's likely still some room left in the APPF rally. Chegg (CHGG)Source: Casimiro PT / Shutterstock.com Chegg Inc (NYSE:CHGG) has transformed itself over the past few years.What was formerly a company focused largely on a money-losing textbook rental business has become the go-to platform for college students in the U.S. Chegg offers a wide variety of services to students, ranging from tutoring and online study help to eTextbooks and its legacy print textbook rental business (which is now outsourced, providing a major boost to Chegg profits).Like most stocks on this list, CHGG isn't cheap, trading at over 14 times its revenue and a forward price-earnings ratio of about 52. But with the company's earnings per share expected to nearly double this year, there's enough to support a premium valuation.With Chegg increasingly looking dominant in what its CEO Dan Rosensweig has called "winner take most" markets, a takeover looks likely. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has tried to attract college students by building out physical bookstores and offering free Prime memberships. Chegg, which reaches the majority of those students, would give the company both an entry into that market and a wealth of valuable data to boot. * 7 Stocks to Buy to Ride the Vegan Wave Even if Amazon doesn't come calling, Chegg's expanding service offerings and potential to target high school and graduate students suggest years of growth ahead. And even the current, somewhat pricey, valuation doesn't account for all of that potential. Varonis Systems (VRNS)Source: Shutterstock Varonis Systems (NASDAQ:VRNS) has an intriguing growth story. The company develops software for businesses that manages what it calls "unstructured data." That includes everything from emails to spreadsheets to memos.That data is growing exponentially and so is the risk it poses. As seen in leaks at Sony (NYSE:SNE) and elsewhere, there's a lot of valuable information contained in those files. Varonis protects them from unwanted entry and it organizes them for corporate managers.The importance of unstructured data continues to drive Varonis revenue higher, with the company's 2018 top-line growth expected to come in at about 20%. Sales cycles remain relatively long and intensive, as in many cases Varonis still has to prove the usefulness of the software. That's particularly true for companies who haven't had a data breach yet. As awareness increases and those cycles shorten, both revenue growth and operating margins will benefit.Meanwhile, VRNS is expected to report a profit for 2019. And yet it trades at a bit over 14 times its trailing-twelve-month revenue, plus cash. That sounds like a big multiple, but it's actually somewhat modest in the SaaS space, particularly given Varonis' growth profile.As sales grow, and that multiple expands, VRNS should continue to climb. Ollie's Bargain Outlet (OLLI)Source: Shutterstock There are very few retail growth stories in the U.S. of any size, particularly in brick-and-mortar retail. But Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:OLLI) is one to keep an eye on.Ollie's benefits from being in the off-price channel, one of the few areas of retail that has held up well amid the pressure from online retailers like Amazon. And while Ollie's is much smaller than peers TJX Companies Inc (NYSE:TJX) and Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST), in this case that's a good thing.The company's store expansion plan alone suggests years of growth ahead, with strong same-store sales contributing as well. OLLI isn't necessarily cheap, trading at 33 times analysts' consensus FY19 EPS estimate. * 7 Discount Retail Stocks to Buy for a Recession But the company is solidly profitable, has little debt, and has significant whitespace to build out its store count - and revenue. For investors who believe the off-price channel should continue to manage online competition, OLLI is an extremely intriguing choice. Shotspotter (SSTI)Source: Shutterstock Shotspotter (NASDAQ:SSTI) is a classic early-stage growth company. Shotspotter is expected to become profitable for the first time this year.The company's namesake product detects gunfire and notifies law enforcement in real time, making police response more efficient and neighborhoods safer. The product already has been deployed in major cities like Chicago and New York, with seven new cities adopting the software just last month.That growth should continue, as Shotspotter brings on additional municipalities and, eventually, expands internationally as well. Revenue is still relatively small -- just $34 million over the past year -- but a $491 million market cap leaves room for upside.Continued adoption would make SSTI a likely takeover target for defense companies like Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) or Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) or other larger, government-focused suppliers. And with the need for Shotspotter, unfortunately, rising every year, that increased adoption seems likely. LogMeIn (LOGM)Source: Shutterstock Video-conferencing leader LogMeIn Inc (NASDAQ:LOGM) offers a nice combination of growth and value.Trading at just 15 times analysts' consensus EPS estimate, LOGM certainly doesn't look like it's pricing in the huge EPS growth analysts are expecting this year.With video conferencing demand still increasing and top-line growth expected in 2019, LogMeIn should be able to drive double-digit EPS growth for years to come. That, in turn, suggests a fair amount of upside from current levels. * 10 Battered Tech Stocks to Buy Now There are some risks, specifically around competition. But from a long-term perspective, LogMeIn still seems to have years of growth in front of it and it's trading at a price worth paying. Shake Shack (SHAK)Source: JHENG YAO / Shutterstock.com Shake Shack Inc (NYSE:SHAK) is growing. Revenue is expected to jump 28% this year. And the company still has plenty of room to expand, and it recently opened its first restaurant in mainland China.SHAK is a bit of a turnaround play, but the Shake Shack story is still playing out. If the company can stabilize same-restaurant sales, location growth alone should drive profits -- and SHAK stock -- higher. iRobot (IRBT)Source: Grzegorz Czapski / Shutterstock.com iRobot Corporation (NASDAQ:IRBT) got a bit ahead of itself last year. In April, IRBT stock traded around $60; by late August, the stock had nearly doubled.IRBT then pulled back over 30%, subsequently rebounded back near its former highs, and then dropped again. But the category itself is growing double-digits, and Internet of Things catalysts could further drive product adoption. * 7 Stocks to Buy In a Flat Market IRBT shares aren't necessarily cheap. But at 24 times next year's earnings, IRBT isn't very expensive for a company in a rapidly growing category. With the company capable of driving 20%-plus EPS growth going forward, that multiple isn't very steep.As of this writing, Vince Martin did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 10 Stocks That Should Be Every Young Investor's First Choice * 5 IPO Stocks to Buy -- According to Wall Street Analysts * The Top 10 Best Sectors in the Market for 2019 The post 8 Small-Cap Stocks to Buy for Big-Time Growth Potential appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- Kiplinger
Earnings Reports for the Week of Sept. 16-20 (CHWY, DRI, FDX)
Check out our weekly earnings calendar and read the latest quarterly earnings previews.
- InvestorPlace
Why Investors Should Buy GW Pharmaceuticals Stock
Some call GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:GWPH) a cannabis company. Others, like GW Pharma CEO Justin Gover, believe it is a biotech company. Regardless of the industry in which the company operates, the important thing is that investors understand GW stock is an excellent long-term investment. Source: Shutterstock InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsHere's why. A Long Runway of GrowthCurrently, GW has one cannabis-derived drug, Epidiolex, that's available in the U.S. Another, Sativex, is in development, and there are several others in the pipeline that should make their way into the marketplace over the next several years. In the second quarter, Epidiolex generated net sales of $68.4 million, 204% higher than the drug's sales in the first quarter. Overall, GW's Q2 revenues were $72.0 million, 2,080% higher than a year earlier. * 7 Tech Stocks You Should Avoid Now GW began selling its cannabis-derived products in the U.S. in November 2018, and sales of its drugs in the largest European nations, France, Germany, and the U.K., are expected to begin later in 2019. Investment bank Evercore ISI predicts that U.S. peak sales of Epidiolex could be as high as $1.3 billion. Derived from a substance in cannabis called cannabidiol (CBD), Epidiolex is used to treat Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, both of which are forms of childhood epilepsy. The fact that Epidiolex is the first FDA-approved medicine derived from cannabis has convinced many that GW is a marijuana stock. GW Isn't ProfitableLike many early-stage biotech companies, GW's expenses are high and its revenues are low. But the fact that it's generating meaningful revenue is certainly positive for GW stock. In the first six months of 2019, GW had an operating loss of $80.7 million, 46% lower than in the same period a year earlier. Once Epidiolex becomes available in Europe, GW's operating loss should drop much further. "In Europe, we are pleased to have recently received the positive opinion from (regulators) which clears the way for an expected approval in October," GW's CEO, Gover, was quoted as saying in an Aug. 6 press release. "Our European commercial organization is in place and will be ready to launch in the first European markets upon approval," he added. JPMorgan analyst Cory Kasimov raised his price target on GW stock by $18 in late August to $232. versus the $141 price at which GW stock closed on Friday. "A continued strong U.S. launch (of Epidiolex) and EU approval in October." along with the likely use of the drug to start treating Tuberous Sclerosis Complex in 2020, should enable GW stock to climb further, Kasimov stated in a note to clients. Tuberous Sclerosis Complex is a genetic disorder that results in noncancerous tumors spreading throughout the body. One of the side effects of the complex is epilepsy, which Epidiolex is intended to treat. The company estimates that as many as 80,000 Americans and as many as 2 million people worldwide are affected by TSC. The Bottom Line on GW StockAnother InvestorPlace columnist, Josh Enomoto, wrote something about GW stock in April that highlights the company's potential."In many ways, GWPH stock is the Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) of healthcare: their core ingredient, cannabis, is dirt cheap. Therefore, the underlying company has the ability to disrupt the drug-making industry like no one's business," Josh stated in an article published on April 30. As I see it, GW Pharmaceuticals is the best cannabis stock that isn't actually a cannabis stock. At the time of this writing Will Ashworth did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 10 Recession-Resistant Services Stocks to Buy * 7 Hot Penny Stocks to Consider Now * 7 Tech Stocks You Should Avoid Now The post Why Investors Should Buy GW Pharmaceuticals Stock appeared first on InvestorPlace.
- Bloomberg
Apple Takes on EU’s Vestager in Record $14 Billion Tax Fight
(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. fights the world’s biggest tax case in a quiet courtroom this week, trying to rein in the European Union’s powerful antitrust chief ahead of a potential new crackdown on internet giants.The iPhone maker can tell the EU General Court in Luxembourg that it’s the world’s biggest taxpayer. But that’s not enough for EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager who said in a 2016 ruling that Apple’s tax deals with Ireland allowed the company to pay far less than other businesses. The court must now weigh whether regulators were right to levy a record 13 billion-euro ($14.4 billion) tax bill.Apple’s haggling over tax comes after its market valuation hit $1.02 trillion last week on the back of a new aggressive pricing strategy that may stoke demand for some smartphones and watches. The company’s huge revenue -- and those of other technology firms -- have attracted close scrutiny in Europe, focusing on complicated company structures for transferring profits generated from intellectual property.A court ruling, likely to take months, could empower or halt Vestager’s tax probes, which are now centering on fiscal deals done by Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc. She’s also been tasked with coming up with a “fair European tax” by the end of 2020 if global efforts to reform digital taxation don’t make progress.“Politically, this will have very big consequences,” said Sven Giegold, a Green member of the European Parliament. “If Apple wins this case, the calls for tax harmonization in Europe will take on a different dynamic, you can count on that.”Vestager showed her determination to fight the tax cases to the end by opening new probes into 39 companies’ tax deals with Belgium on Monday. The move addresses criticism by the same court handling the Apple challenge. A February judgment threw out her 2016 order for them to pay back about 800 million euros.At the same time she’s pushing for “fair international tax rules so that digitization doesn’t allow companies to avoid paying their fair share of tax,” according to a speech to German ambassadors last month. She urged them to use “our influence to build an international environment that helps us reach our goals” in talks on a new global agreement to tax technology firms.Apple’s fury at its 2016 EU order saw Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook blasting the EU move as “total political crap.” The company’s legal challenge claims the EU wrongly targeted profits that should be taxed in the U.S. and “retroactively changed the rules” on how global authorities calculate what’s owed to them.The U.S. Treasury weighed in too, saying the EU was making itself a “supra-national tax authority” that could threaten global tax reform efforts. President Donald Trump hasn’t been silent either, saying Vestager “hates the United States” because “she’s suing all our companies.”“There is a lot at stake given the high-profile nature of the case, as well as the concerns that have been raised from the U.S. Treasury that the investigations risk undermining the international tax system,” said Nicole Robins, a partner at economics consultancy Oxera in Brussels.Apple declined to comment ahead of the hearing, referring to previous statements. The European Commission also declined to comment. Ireland said it “profoundly” disagreed with the EU’s findings.Richard Murphy, a professor at London’s City University, said the EU’s case “is about making clear that no company should be beyond the geographic limits of tax law.”“Selective attempts to get round the law -- which is what tax avoidance is -- are unacceptable when companies seek the protection and support of that same law” in the rest of their business,” Murphy said.Vestager has also fined Google some $9 billion. She’s ordered Amazon to pay back taxes -- a mere 250 million euros -- and is probing Nike Inc.’s tax affairs and looking into Google’s taxation in Ireland.The first hints of how the Apple case may turn out will come from a pair of rulings scheduled for Sept. 24.The General Court will rule on whether the EU was right to demand unpaid taxes from Starbucks Corp. and a Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV unit. Those judgments could set an important precedent on how far the EU can question tax decisions national governments make on how companies should be treated.“It’s very clear that the largest companies in the world -- the frightful five I call them -- are hardly paying taxes,” said Paul Tang, a socialist lawmaker at the European Parliament. “Cases like these, Amazon in Luxembourg or Apple in Ireland, started to build public and political pressure” for tax reform in Europe.The legal battles may go on for a few years more. The General Court rulings can be appealed once more to the EU’s highest tribunal, the EU Court of Justice. Meanwhile, Apple’s back taxes -- 14.3 billion euros including interest -- sit in an escrow account and can’t be paid to Ireland until the final legal challenges are exhausted.For Alex Cobham, chief executive of the Tax Justice Network campaign group, the issue is already in the past and “it’s not even the biggest tax scandal that Apple has” after reports on other structures it may use. Tax reforms under discussion “will ensure much closer alignment of taxable profits and the real economic activity” generated by them.The cases are: T-892/16, Apple Sales International and Apple Operations Europe v. Commission, T-778/16, Ireland v. Commission.(Updates with Vestager comment in seventh paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Stephanie Bodoni in Luxembourg at sbodoni@bloomberg.net;Aoife White in Brussels at awhite62@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net, Peter ChapmanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- TheStreet.com
Amazon Search Algorithm Tweaked to Feature Its More Profitable Listings: Report
Amazon.com made adjustments to its product-search system to more prominently feature listings that are more profitable for the company, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people who worked on the project. Amazon emphatically denied the charge, however, in a tweet on Monday afternoon. "We have not changed the criteria we use to rank search results to include profitability," the company wrote.
- American City Business Journals
10 Northern Virginia jurisdictions form economic development alliance
Ten jurisdictions in Northern Virginia have teamed up to jointly brand their part of Greater Washington and target economic development opportunities beyond the D.C. area. Members of the Northern Virginia Economic Development Alliance have signed a memorandum of understanding that “commits them to working together on regional brand creation and promotion activities and to engage more fully with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership as a regional economic development organization,” per a release. “This is an historic moment for Northern Virginia,” Victor Hoskins, president of the Fairfax County EDA, said in a release.
- Business Wire
Amazon Expands Chicago Tech Hub and Announces Plans to Create 400 New Tech Jobs
Amazon (AMZN) today announced an expansion of its Chicago Tech Hub and plans to create 400 new tech jobs in fields including cloud computing, advertising, and business development. To accommodate this job creation, Amazon will expand its office in downtown Chicago by more than 70,000 square feet, allowing the company to double its tech workforce in the city.
- InvestorPlace
FedEx Stock May Be Cheap, but It Is Not Compelling
Over the past five years, shares of logistics giant FedEx (NYSE:FDX) have gone essentially nowhere. That is, in September 2014, FedEx stock was $160.Source: Shutterstock Today, in September 2019, FDX stock trades hands at $170. Thus, over the past five years, FDX has barely nudged higher while the S&P 500 is up more than 50% over that same stretch.Unfortunately, I don't think FedEx stock is going anywhere over the next five years, either.InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading TipsThe reality is that FedEx faces major secular challenges that aren't going away anytime soon. Indeed, these challenges may only intensify over the next several years. Yes, FedEx looks cheap here. But, it's cheap for a reason, and it will remain cheap so long as these secular challenges hang around.As such, for the foreseeable future, I think FDX stock will remain grounded. It may bounce here. But, I doubt that such a bounce will be sustainable. Long term, the stock will have a tough time producing suitable return for investors. * 7 Discount Retail Stocks to Buy for a Recession Net-net, I simply think there are better and safer places to invest at the moment, so I continue to avoid this logistics giant. FedEx Stock Is CheapLet's start by acknowledging that, yes, FedEx stock is dirt cheap here.FedEx presently trades at 12-times forward earnings. The five year average forward earnings multiple on the stock? North of 14, or about 20% above the current forward earnings multiple. The average forward earnings multiple in the air freight and logistics sector? Just south of 14, or about 15% above the current forward earnings multiple.At the same time, FedEx stock features a 1.5% dividend yield. That's a decade-high yield for this stock, and nearly double the stock's trailing five-year average yield.In other words, FedEx stock is dirt cheap. The numbers don't really support this cheapness. Over the next few years, the Street expects FedEx to report low-to-mid single digit revenue growth, on top of slight profit margin expansion, which analysts believe will lead to double-digit profit growth in fiscal 2021 and 2022 (following a decline in 2020).Broadly, with FDX, you have a stock trading at 12-times forward earnings for what Wall Street sees as double-digit profit growth over the next few years. Sounds like a bargain, right? It's Cheap for a ReasonIt's not. FDX stock is dirt cheap for a reason, secular challenges significantly cloud visibility for double digit profit growth over the next few years and raise concerns that revenue and profit erosion may be more likely paths forward in the long run than steady growth.The big news here, of course, is that FedEx and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) parted ways this summer, as it became clear that the latter was building out its own logistics network in the hopes of one day entirely in-sourcing all deliveries.That wasn't a big hit on FedEx. After all, FedEx delivered a very small portion of Amazon's packages, and Amazon accounted for just about 1% of FedEx's revenues.But, the concern here (and rightfully so) is that other large retailers will follow in Amazon's footsteps, and similarly build out their own logistics networks as third-party delivery costs add up.Right now, FedEx is hitching their wagon to the "other 51%" of U.S. eCommerce that Amazon does not own. In the near term, that may work. But, in the long run, there are a few challenges here.First, the second most important player in the U.S. eCommerce market is Shopify (NYSE:SHOP). They don't use FedEx, they are building out their own fulfillment network, and they are growing very rapidly. Second, the third most important player in the U.S. e-commerce market is Walmart (NYSE:WMT). They use FedEx a lot.But, Walmart is also in direct competition with Amazon. So, as Amazon leverages its own delivery network to cut delivery costs and pass those savings onto customers via lower prices, Walmart will be forced to do the same, meaning this healthy FedEx-Walmart relationship may not remain healthy for that long.Third, while it's true that only a small number of retailers have the size and scale to launch their own logistics operations, those small number of retailers command the lion's share of the eCommerce pie. After Amazon, the next 10 biggest players in the eCommerce market control a combined 25% of the e-retail market. They all realistically can build out their own logistics services. That leaves just 25% share for FedEx.Big picture, there are secular challenges here that raise concerns that FedEx could ultimately become a smaller and smaller player in the logistics market over the next several years. Bottom Line on FedEx StockFDX stock is dirt cheap here. But, it's dirt cheap for a reason. Secular challenges cloud the long term growth outlook here. So long as those secular challenges hang around, FDX stock will probably remain dirt cheap, and not do much for investors.As of this writing, Luke Lango was long SHOP. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 10 Big IPO Stocks From 2019 to Watch * 7 Discount Retail Stocks to Buy for a Recession * 7 Stocks to Buy Benefiting From Millennial Money The post FedEx Stock May Be Cheap, but It Is Not Compelling appeared first on InvestorPlace.
