Tag Archives: amzn

Amazon To Miss Wall Street Q1 Earnings Expectations, Says Analyst

Mighty e-commerce giant Amazon.com ( AMZN ) will fall well short of Wall Street’s Q1 earnings estimates, at least one analyst predicts. Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter, however, expects sales to beat view, he said in a research note Wednesday. The company is slated to report Q1 earnings after the close Thursday. Pachter forecasts earnings per share minus items of 45 cents. That would swing from a 12-cent loss in the year-earlier quarter, but analysts polled by Thomson Reuters have modeled EPS ex items of 58 cents. IBD Take: Amazon is a Leaderboard stock. Find out why at IBD Stock Checkup. Amazon is known for de-emphasizing profit as it strives for growth. Capital expenditures on items such as new fulfillment centers , more digital content, expansion of several of its e-tail lines and expanding delivery offerings will contribute to lower-than-expected earnings, Patcher wrote. Analysts have modeled a 21% increase in revenue vs. Q1 2015, to $28 billion. That would be down a tad from 22% and 23% year-over-year growth in the two preceding quarters. The Amazon Prime loyalty program also is going to eat into profits, Pachter says, because of the company’s aggressive efforts to sign up more members. Pachter also expects Prime’s new monthly $10.99 payment option — previously it was only available for $99 for 12 months — will further boost membership, especially around the holiday shopping season . Amazon’s cloud services division, Amazon Web Services, is likely to continue to see growing gross and operating margins, Patcher says. But he expects growth to be “measured” due to the company’s investments in international data centers. Patcher says a recent letter Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos sent to shareholders suggests that the company is going to continue to “invest in growth” beyond what Wall Street is expecting. Amazon’s Q4 2015 financials fell  shy of Wall Street’s outsized expectations. Image provided by Shutterstock .

Amazon Food Rival Kitchit Shutting Down Wednesday, Source Says

Personal chef booking platform Kitchit  will soon run out of funding and will cease operations on Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the situation at the startup. But Kitchit CEO Brendan Marshall denied any decision to shut down has been made. “Like many startups in our proximity, Kitchit is navigating turbulent times,” Marshall told IBD via email. “That said, no such decision has been reached and we continue to be actively engaged in fundraising conversations. We recently served our 100,000th customer and hope to serve many multiples of that number in the future.” But a source told IBD that Marshall announced the decision to close up shop. Also, Kitchit’s website is not currently accepting bookings. The company has raised $8.1 million in two funding rounds, according to CrunchBase , from more than 20 individual investors, but the vast majority of the funding came from Javelin Venture Partners, which chipped in $7.5 million. The news of Kitchit’s possible closure comes hot on the heels of New York-based Kitchensurfing, a similar firm, shutting down , and might signal trouble in the food delivery sector. Kitchit began as an online marketplace where diners can find and hire personal chefs with custom menus. But the company discontinued that service  in August to focus on its less-expensive service Kitchit Tonight. Kitchit Tonight offers pre-prepared food that’s assembled at a customer’s home by a chef for $39 per person. Launched in San Francisco four years ago, Kitchit expanded to Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. The company does business in a fiercely competitive market that includes well-funded startups such as DoorDash — which delivers meals prepared at restaurants — as well as e-commerce leader  Amazon.com ( AMZN ) and GrubHub ( GRUB ). Amazon offers food delivery through its Amazon Restaurants business . Yelp ( YELP ) and Square ( SQ ) also have food delivery businesses. Noah Doyle, the managing director at Javelin who oversees Kitchit, did not immediately return a request for comment.

Earnings Season Meltdown? 4 Big Names Tease Buy Zones Then Tumble

Loading the player… Alphabet ( GOOGL ), Microsoft ( MSFT ), Starbucks ( SBUX ) and Visa ( V ) were all trading at or near buy points going into their quarterly earnings reports last night. But in what could be seen as a big letdown for investors, all four issued disappointing results and/or guidance, which has sent the stocks tumbling below key levels. Not only is this notable because of their big names, but also because most of them are highly rated by IBD. Alphabet currently earns an IBD Composite Rating of 98 out of 99, while Visa has a 92, and Starbucks has a 90. Microsoft has a Composite Rating of 73, meaning it outperforms 73% of all stocks based on fundamental and technical factors. IBD’s Take: How do Alphabet, Microsoft, Starbucks, Visa measure up? Find out at IBD Stock Checkup Alphabet gapped down 5.4% in giant volume, breaching its 50-day line. It’s also triggering a sell signal, with shares now more than 5% below the cup-with-handle buy point at 777.41. The stock is trading 9% below its February high. Microsoft plunged 7.2% in heavy volume, with the stock breaking below the 50-day. Shares are now looking for support at the 200-day line. Microsoft was near its 56.95 buy point in Thursday’s session, but it’s now trading 9% below that level. Starbucks is dropping below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages in quick turnover, losing 4.9%. Shares are trading 7% below a saucer-with-handle buy point at 61.74, and 10% below their October peak. And Visa is now below its 10-day line, falling 2.1% in fast trade. It’s still holding above the 50-day and 200-day lines, which recently crossed in a bullish manner. Shares are now 3% below their cup-base buy point at 81.11. Whether this is a trend that will continue throughout earnings season remains to be seen, but we will continue to update you as reports from Facebook ( FB ), Amazon ( AMZN ) and PayPal ( PYPL ) come in next week.