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Amazon recently announced its return-to-office (RTO) policy, which requires employees to return to physical offices at least three days a week.
According to a recent survey on Blind, 73% of 2,585 Amazon workers said they are considering finding new jobs after CEO Andy Jassy’s Sept. 16 memo.
However, Amazon’s stock price has little changed as strict office attendance policies may be a way to get people to quit and avoid the cost of laying them off.
Amazon’s Q2 financials disappointed investors
Amazon stock is up more than 24% year-to-date as of September 30, outperforming the S&P 500, which is up 21.5%. The company lost nearly 9% on August 2 following disappointing sales but has now recovered from that drop.
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During the second quarter, the company earned $1.26 per share, topping the $1.03 expected by analysts. However, Q2 revenue of $147.98 billion missed the $148.56 billion forecast.
The company also posted a weak Q3 guidance, expecting revenue between $154 billion and $158.5 billion. The midpoint, $156.25 billion, falls short of the average analyst estimate of $158.24 billion.
AWS grew 19% year-over-year, beating estimates but lagging behind rivals Microsoft and Google. Meanwhile, Amazon’s advertising revenue rose 20% to $12.77 billion, slightly below expectations.
Analysts raise Amazon stock price target
On Sept. 30, Truist analyst Youssef Squali raised Amazon’s price target to $265 from $230 and kept a buy rating.
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Squali expects Amazon’s North America revenue to align with consensus estimates, driven by a resilient consumer base, continued advertising revenue growth, accelerated Web Services growth, and higher year-over-year operating margins.
“This comes even as the company invests aggressively in artificial intelligence, AWS, logistics and Project Kuiper,” the analyst tells investors in a research note pulled by thefly.com.
Truist maintains that Amazon is its top mega-cap pick as the company continues to expand its share of global e-commerce and enhance its value proposition for both merchants and consumers.
The firm also views Amazon as one of the best players in cloud, AI, digital advertising, and global logistics. Additionally, Truist has shifted its price target projection from fiscal 2024 to 2025.
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Evercore ISI analyst Mark Mahaney also raised Amazon’s price target to $240 from $225 and kept an outperform rating. The stock remains the analyst’s “#1 Large Cap Long” in Internet, thefly.com reported on Sept. 20.
The analyst highlighted that Amazon’s Prime Video is projected to generate $3 billion to $5.9 billion in revenue in 2025, which would add 3% to 9% growth to the estimated $56 billion in ad revenue Amazon is expected to make in 2024.
Amazon shares traded at $186.33 on Sept. 30.
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