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Amazon Looks Primed To Disrupt Wal-Mart, Target, CVS, Walgreens

A major expansion by Amazon.com ( AMZN ) into private-label goods, which could come this month, elevates its ability to further challenge legacy retailers across the board. Cowen analyst John Blackledge estimates Amazon will be the No. 2 player in the $425 billion consumable market, excluding food and beverage, surpassing  Walgreens Boots Alliance ( WBA ), CVS Health ( CVS ) and Target ( TGT ) but still lagging well behind market leader Wal-Mart ( WMT ). He defines consumables as four segments: personal care products, household products, baby products and pet products. Blackledge also estimates Amazon will be a top-10 player in the $785 billion food and beverage grocery market by 2019. “We are encouraged by Amazon’s growing footprint in this category, which we see as ripe for potential disruption, given younger demos increasingly purchasing grocery items via digital channels,” Blackledge wrote. The leader in the food and beverage category is Wal-Mart, followed by Kroger ( KR ), Albertsons/Safeway and Costco Wholesale ( COST ). Last week, the Wall Street Journal  cited people familiar with the matter as saying Amazon is set in the coming weeks to roll out new lines of private-label brands that will include its first broad push into perishable foods. According to the Private Label Manufacturers Association, sales of private-label store brands in the U.S. topped $118 billion in 2015, with supermarkets and drug chains accounting for over $70 billion of the total. In the grocery and consumables market, Blackledge says, Amazon’s growth has come at the expense of Wal-Mart, Target. Walgreens and CVS. Amazon’s key competitive advantage is its multiplatform approach with Amazon Prime, which includes same-day delivery for many goods, “all of which should lead to rising number of consumers skipping the trip to the local supercenter, drug store or grocery market,” he wrote. Amazon has sold private-label products since 2009, primarily under the AmazonBasics brand, though that effort has concentrated largely on consumer electronics. Amazon stock rose 0.6% to 702.80 in the stock market today . Amazon stock hit an all-time high of 722.45 on May 12. It carries a strong IBD Composite Rating of 94, putting it among the top 6% of all stocks on key metrics such as revenue growth. Walgreens climbed 1.3% but CVS fell 1.5%. Target climbed 2.4%. Wal-Mart advanced 1%, hitting a nine-month high intraday, after spiking nearly 10% Thursday on strong earnings and same-store sales.

Apple Has Largest Cash Stockpile, Twice That Of Microsoft’s

Apple ( AAPL ) continues to reign as the Scrooge McDuck of the corporate world, keeping a virtual treasure vault of gold coins that it can swim in. Apple accounted for $215.7 billion, or 12.8%, of total corporate cash in 2015, Moody’s Investors Service reported Friday. That’s up from $178 billion, or 10.7%, in 2014, and $159 billion, or 9.7%, in 2013. The top five U.S. companies stockpiling cash, all tech companies, collectively held $504 billion, or 30% of the total corporate cash balance among non-financial companies. That’s up from $440 billion, or 27%, in 2014 and $404 billion, or 25%, in 2013. The top five are: Apple, Microsoft ( MSFT ), Google parent Alphabet ( GOOGL ), Cisco Systems ( CSCO ) and Oracle ( ORCL ). U.S. non-financial companies rated by Moody’s held $1.68 trillion in cash at the end of 2015, up 1.8% from $1.65 trillion at the end of 2014. But much of the cash is parked overseas, and U.S. companies are reluctant to bring it home, lest they face stiff tax penalties. Overseas cash is estimated at $1.2 trillion, or 72% of total cash. That’s up from $1.1 trillion, or 64% of cash in 2014, and $950 billion, or 58% of total cash, in 2013. Technology, health care/pharmaceuticals, consumer products and energy are the most cash-flush industries, with $1.3 trillion, or 71%, of the corporate cash total. The tech sector has the largest cash pile, at $777 billion, or 46%, of the total, Moody’s said. Microsoft, the second-most cash-rich company in the U.S., had $102.6 billion, less than half of Apple’s total. Alphabet came in third with $73.1 billion, followed by Cisco ($60.4 billion) and Oracle ($52.3 billion). Apple shares ended Friday trades up 1.1%. Microsoft and Alphabet finished the day up less than 1% on the stock market today . Cisco and Oracle each climbed 1.5%.

Apple Begins Retail Refresh With San Francisco Store

Apple ( AAPL ) on Saturday will open a new store at San Francisco’s Union Square, offering many new features and services that it will be rolling out to other Apple retail stores worldwide. Apple is evolving its store design and trying to make its shops into community hubs that entertain and educate visitors, Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s senior vice president of retail and online stores, said in a statement . The Union Square location features 42-foot-tall sliding glass doors at the entrance and a 6K video wall inside. The Genius Bar has been replaced by a Genius Grove, where customers can get support from Apple tech experts under a canopy of local trees in the center of the store. The Union Square store also boasts an art-filled outdoor plaza with seating, free Wi-Fi, a 50-foot “green wall” and regular acoustic music performances. Apple expects to add similar public spaces at other flagship stores. The store is powered by 100% renewable energy, including electricity produced by photovoltaic panels integrated into the building’s roof. At a press preview Thursday, Ahrendts said she wants to see Apple stores integrated with the community and become like town squares, the Verge reported . “This is more than just a store,” Ahrendts said. “We want people to say, ‘Hey, meet me at Apple.’ ” Apple shares were up 1.1% to 95.22 at Friday’s close on the stock market today . RELATED: Apple Has Largest Cash Stockpile, Twice That Of Microsoft’s Hedge Funds Dump Apple, Buy Facebook In Q1 .