Tag Archives: amzn

Amazon Will Continue To Spend Big To Improve Deliveries: Analyst

In 2010,  Amazon.com ( AMZN ) had 26 fulfillment centers in North America. By 2017, it will have 88, according to Cowen analyst John Blackledge. In a research report Monday, Blackledge said Amazon’s rapid and massive delivery-system expansion — costing the company more than $10 billion in capital expenditures — is likely to continue for the foreseeable future and will not be matched by rivals such as Wal-Mart ( WMT ). Doubling down on the fulfillment business has meant continuing to innovate, especially in Amazon’s “sortation” centers, he says. These centers facilitate last-mile delivery — a notorious problem for any logistics company — and, in conjunction with increased United States Postal Service shipments, improvements here could drive down the cost of shipping to $1.85 per order from $4 to $5, the analyst says. Though spending big bucks has depressed earnings, generating  ire among investors , the strategy is sticking close to the philosophy Jeff Bezos laid out in his 1997 letter to shareholders, that the company will put customers before profits. Amazon stock was up a fraction in afternoon trading on the stock market today , near 624. The company has an IBD Composite Rating of 77, where 99 is the highest. After a low-volume breakout, Amazon is still in buy range from a 603.34 cup-with-handle buy point. Amazon is an IBD Leaderboard stock. The company, meanwhile, also is expanding its FedEx ( FDX ) and UPS ( UPS )-like services. The company has acknowledged a widely circulated rumor that it was launching a fleet of jets — which it is leasing and operating out of Wilmington, Ohio. Blackledge says this program has the potential to make every Amazon item deliverable within a day. The e-commerce leader is set to report Q1 earnings after the close Thursday. Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter wrote in a research note last week that the company will miss EPS expectations but beat sales estimates.

Forget Apple — Here Are 4 Tech Stocks Near Buy Points Pre-Earnings

More earnings reports from big-name companies are due out this week, and positive results could fuel their shares higher. A lot of attention will be on Apple ’s ( AAPL ) earnings late Tuesday, but its stock is in a downtrend. Let’s take a look at four tech stocks with earnings on tap that are trading in or near buy range: Facebook ( FB ), Amazon ( AMZN ), PayPal ( PYPL ) and Baidu ( BIDU ). Facebook reports after the close on Wednesday. Both earnings and revenue are projected to jump 48%. The social media leader is trading 6% below a cup-with-handle buy point at 117.09, and shares are looking to find support at the 50-day moving average again on the stock market today as they dip 0.8% intraday. PayPal also reports late Wednesday, with analysts expecting earnings growth of 20% on a revenue rise of 19%. PayPal is trading just below buy range from an alternate entry at 40.03, and the stock was off 1.3% Monday. It’s also trading 6% below its all-time high as it works on a larger consolidation pattern. Amazon reports after the close on Thursday. Revenue is expected to climb 23%, while the bottom line is projected to swing to a profit of 58 cents a share vs. a 12-cent loss last year. Amazon is still trading in buy range from a cup-with-handle base buy point of 603.34, which it initially broke out of two weeks ago. Shares are currently 11% below their high reached in late December, and they dipped 0.2% Monday. China Internet giant Baidu reports after the close on Thursday as well, with the bottom line projected to fall 10%. Baidu is trading 15% below its 52-week high. Shares have drifted back below a cup-with-handle buy point, but positive results could send shares back within buy range. Baidu was down 1.6% in intraday trade. Meanwhile, Apple is trading 22% below its all-time high reached a year ago and is nearing its downward-sloping 50-day line.

Akamai Q1: Media Revenue Seen Down But Security Services Up

Akamai Technologies ‘ ( AKAM ) revenue from media and entertainment customers such as Apple ( AAPL ) and Facebook ( FB ) is expected to fall in Q1, but analysts expect a boost from the Internet infrastructure company’s move into security services. Cambridge, Mass.-based Akamai, the biggest provider of content delivery network services, is set to report Q1 earnings after the close Tuesday. Akamai’s global CDN helps Apple, Facebook and other speed up video streaming, e-commerce transactions and business software downloads over the Internet. Apple, though, is among the big tech companies that has been developing its own CDN, while also using other CDN providers. Mark Mahaney, analyst at RBC Capital , is modelling a 3.5% year-over-year decline in sales for Akamai’s media and entertainment business but a 15% rise in cloud-security revenue. “We are looking for $207 million, or a 3.5%  (media segment) decline, as two of the company’s largest media customers (likely Apple, Facebook) transition off the Akamai platform. The concern over whether additional top media customers will migrate off Akamai remains the most material overhang on the stock,” Mahaney said in a research report. “Security is becoming an increasingly meaningful part of the financial story, accounting for 12% of revenue in 2015. We are modeling 45% year-over-year growth to $79.8 million.” Akamai competes with  Level 3 Communications ( LVLT ), and Limelight Networks ( LLNW ) as well as startups Fastly and CloudFlare. Verizon Communications ( VZ ) ( IBD ), Amazon.com ‘s ( AMZN ) Amazon Web Services,   IBM ( IBM ) and Comcast ( CMCSA ) also are emerging as new rivals in some parts of the CDN market. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimate Q1 EPS of $564 million, up 7% from the year-earlier period. Analysts estimate earnings per share minus items of 63 cents, up 3%. Akamai stock is about even in 2016 but down 32% over the past 12 months. Akamai has a low IBD Composite Rating of 50 out of a possible 99. Akamai stock was down a fraction, near 51, in early trading in the stock market today .