ESG Telegraph
  • Home
  • Latest News
  • Environment
  • Companies
  • Investors
  • Governance
  • Markets
  • Social
  • Regulators
  • Sustainable Finance
Featured Posts
    • Latest News
    UK to review Macquarie’s £4.2bn deal for National Grid’s gas business
    • August 7, 2022
    • Latest News
    The challenges for Latin America’s new left
    • August 7, 2022
    • Latest News
    Disengaged, indifferent, deluded? Why young workers have an image problem
    • August 7, 2022
    • Latest News
    Colombia ushers in its most leftwing president
    • August 7, 2022
    • Companies
    Merck defends tax approach against senator’s claims of avoidance
    • August 7, 2022
Featured Categories
Belarussia
View Posts
Companies
View Posts
Energy
View Posts
Environment
View Posts
Food
View Posts
Governance
View Posts
Health
View Posts
Investors
View Posts
Latest News
View Posts
Markets
View Posts
Potash
View Posts
Regulators
View Posts
Russsia
View Posts
Social
View Posts
Supply Chain
View Posts
Sustainable Finance
View Posts
Technology
View Posts
Uncategorized
View Posts
ESG Telegraph ESG Telegraph
7K
9K
4K
1K
ESG Telegraph ESG Telegraph
  • Home
  • Latest News
  • Environment
  • Companies
  • Investors
  • Governance
  • Markets
  • Social
  • Regulators
  • Sustainable Finance
  • Latest News

Amazon: clouds part for Big Tech stocks

  • February 4, 2022
  • Staff
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0

Amazon’s end of year performance is not the most impressive of the trillion dollar club to which it belongs. A low sales forecast and rising costs look alarming in the midst of a broad tech sector sell-off. Yet shares beat Big Tech peers to rise 15 per cent in after-hours trading.

Like a Dutch bridge dismantled to accommodate Jeff Bezos’ mega-yacht, markets bend to Amazon’s will. There may be a post-pandemic slowdown in online store sales but the company’s strength lies in its diversification. Unlike Meta or Alphabet, which are heavily reliant on one sector, Amazon’s business also encompasses huge cloud computing and advertising operations. Combined, these account for a fifth of sales. Advertising profits are not split out but AWS, which has a 30 per cent operating margin, supports Amazon’s expensive obsession with ever-faster ecommerce delivery times.

Investors were primed for downbeat news. The $4bn rise in operating costs due to inflation was not a surprise. Higher costs are likely to continue into 2022. The company has doubled its headcount in the past two years to 1.6m. Wages are rising, pushed higher by labour shortages. Net income was expected to fall but was saved by a near $12bn pre-tax gain in Amazon’s investment in newly listed electric vehicle maker Rivian. However, the stock now trades nearly a quarter below its initial public offering price.

Still, Amazon’s investments in its own business are far more palatable than Meta’s far-flung attempt to build the metaverse. Adding facilities and staff means extra capacity, faster delivery times and more incentive for Prime membership extras, which include free delivery.

Raising the price of that membership by $20 per year for an estimated 150m US subscribers should add about $3bn to annual sales, so long as subscribers do not quit. The increase is equal to less than 1 per cent of sales last year. It will serve as a test of Prime’s popularity.

In markets, Amazon is winning its own popularity contest. In spite of Meta’s fall, Big Tech’s earnings season has ended on a positive note.

Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
You May Also Like
Read More
  • Latest News

UK to review Macquarie’s £4.2bn deal for National Grid’s gas business

  • Staff
  • August 7, 2022
Read More
  • Latest News

The challenges for Latin America’s new left

  • Staff
  • August 7, 2022
Read More
  • Latest News

Disengaged, indifferent, deluded? Why young workers have an image problem

  • Staff
  • August 7, 2022
Read More
  • Latest News

Colombia ushers in its most leftwing president

  • Staff
  • August 7, 2022
Read More
  • Latest News

The west’s phantom energy sanctions fuel Russia’s war machine

  • Staff
  • August 7, 2022
Read More
  • Latest News

Bolsonaro bets improving Brazilian economy will be election boon

  • Staff
  • August 7, 2022
Read More
  • Latest News

EU regulator awaits trial data before decision on Covid jab targeting Omicron

  • Staff
  • August 7, 2022
Read More
  • Latest News

Monumental Angkor Wat and the lost ruins of Cambodia

  • Staff
  • August 7, 2022

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Featured Posts
  • 1
    UK to review Macquarie’s £4.2bn deal for National Grid’s gas business
    • August 7, 2022
  • 2
    The challenges for Latin America’s new left
    • August 7, 2022
  • 3
    Disengaged, indifferent, deluded? Why young workers have an image problem
    • August 7, 2022
  • 4
    Colombia ushers in its most leftwing president
    • August 7, 2022
  • 5
    Merck defends tax approach against senator’s claims of avoidance
    • August 7, 2022
Recent Posts
  • The west’s phantom energy sanctions fuel Russia’s war machine
    • August 7, 2022
  • US banks tout fossil fuel credentials after Republican ESG backlash
    • August 7, 2022
  • Bolsonaro bets improving Brazilian economy will be election boon
    • August 7, 2022

Sign Up for Our Newsletters

Subscribe now to our newsletter

ESG Telegraph
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Guest Post
  • Contact

Input your search keywords and press Enter.