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Amazon this week entered the small circle of companies with a $2 trillion-plus market capitalization.
Reaching that threshold makes Amazon one of the world’s most valuable companies. As of mid-Thursday morning, Amazon’s market capitalization was about $2.05 trillion with its stock trading around $195 per share on the Nasdaq. The milestone comes ahead of Amazon’s 30th anniversary of incorporation and 27 years after its first initial public offering at a price of $18. Amazon first reached a market cap of $1 trillion in the fall of 2018.
Amazon joins Microsoft, Apple, Google parent Alphabet, Facebook parent Meta, technology company Nvidia and pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly among the top most valuable companies by market cap. Including its AWS cloud services, Amazon’s net income reached $10.4 billion during the first quarter, up from $3.2 billion year over year — a 229% increase. The company’s Q1 retail sales growth was more modest, rising 7% for its online store to $54.7 billion and up 6.3% to $5.2 billion at the company’s physical stores. For the second quarter, Amazon’s guidance for net sales ranges between $144 billion and $149 billion, which would equate to year-over-year growth between 7% and 11%.
As the company reaches the milestone, multiple media reports emerged that Amazon plans to launch a new storefront positioned to compete head-on with e-commerce retailers Shein and Temu.
“We are always exploring new ways to work with our selling partners to delight our customers with more selection, lower prices, and greater convenience,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement to Retail Dive in response to questions about the possible launch of a new budget-focused online storefront.
Amazon may have some advantages over those lower-priced players, though. Wells Fargo analysts said in a note earlier this month that they “remain positive on [Amazon’s] competitive positioning, given e-comm competitors Temu, Shein, and TikTok Shop target lower-income consumers (who frequent [Walmart] and off-price). TikTok's Shop selection also remains limited, with a large amount of low-end products, while customer experience has been noted to be poor with little quality-control.”
Amazon on Tuesday also announced the dates for its annual summertime Prime Day sale. The deals are exclusive for paid Prime members. This year, the event is set for midnight July 16 through July 17. The company has also enlisted a stable of influencers to debut additional deals from July 8 through July 15.
via https://www.aiupnow.com
Nate Delesline III, Khareem Sudlow
