Amazon's Stock Drops as Online Sales Growth Slows
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Amazon’s stock plummeted over 8% on Friday after the company reported a slowdown in online sales growth for the second quarter and noted a shift in consumer behavior towards more budget-friendly options, according to Reuters.
This trend mirrors the current value-conscious consumer mindset, which is anticipated to impact retail giant Walmart’s quarterly results later this month.
During a post-earnings call, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy highlighted that customers are increasingly seeking bargains and negotiating prices.
Before the market opened, Amazon’s shares were trading at approximately $169. Should the downward trend continue, the company’s market value could see a reduction of around $157 billion.
Michael Morton, an analyst at MoffettNathanson, commented, “The consumer spending trends affecting retail peers seem to have finally impacted Amazon’s profit and loss.”
Amazon’s online store sales grew by 5% to $55.4 billion in the second quarter, down from a 7% growth rate in the first quarter.
Despite the slowdown in online sales, Amazon’s cloud computing revenue and quarterly earnings surpassed analysts’ predictions. Amazon Web Services, the company’s cloud division, reported a 19% increase in revenue, reaching $26.3 billion, exceeding market expectations just days after Microsoft’s Azure cloud services fell short of market estimates, raising concerns about Big Tech’s significant investments in AI.
Seattle-based Amazon is advancing its own “big language models,” capable of quickly responding to complex questions or suggestions, to compete with Microsoft, which partners with OpenAI, and Google.
Amazon’s forward price-to-earnings ratio for the next 12 months stands at 33.92, compared to Alphabet’s 20.46 and Microsoft’s 30.88, according to LSEG data.