Core Viewpoint - Amazon's stock has been trading sideways, down 3% in 2026 and 6% over the last year, with a 13% decline from its all-time high in November [1] Earnings Expectations - Earnings per share (EPS) is expected to be $1.98, a 5% increase year-over-year, and about three cents better than the previous quarter [3] - Revenue is projected at $211.46 billion, reflecting a 13% year-over-year increase [4] - Amazon Web Services (AWS) revenue is anticipated to reach $34.9 billion, a 21% increase from the same quarter last year [4] - Online store sales are expected to hit $82.3 billion, up approximately 9% [4] - Advertising revenue is forecasted to be $21.2 billion, showing significant growth from $17.3 billion in Q4 of 2024 [4] Capital Expenditure (Capex) Insights - Capex is expected to be a key focus, with projections of $34.9 billion for the quarter, up from $34.2 billion in the previous quarter [5][6] - The CFO indicated plans to spend $125 billion in 2025, with continued increases in 2026 to meet AI demand [6] Restructuring and Layoffs - Amazon announced the layoff of 16,000 employees and the closure of Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores, indicating potential restructuring [7] Market Sentiment and Volatility - The market is anticipating a 7% move in Amazon's stock following the earnings report, with increased volatility expected [14] - A cautious approach is being taken by investors, with some looking to buy on dips [9][13]

Core Point - Amazon is closing approximately 60 Amazon Fresh stores in the US, leading to significant job losses for employees in the grocery business [1][2] Group 1: Store Closures and Employee Impact - The closure of Amazon Fresh stores will affect thousands of employees, with around 3,900 workers impacted in California alone due to the shutdown of roughly 20 stores [2] - Amazon Fresh employees will receive their normal pay and benefits for 90 days following the announcement, or until April 28, whichever comes first [4] - Employees will have the opportunity to apply for open roles within Amazon and will receive career transition services to assist in finding new positions [5] Group 2: Severance and Transfer Options - If employees do not secure a new job within Amazon by late April, they will receive severance pay calculated at one week of pay for every six months of service, with a minimum of four weeks' pay and a potential maximum of 20 weeks [6] - Workers interested in transferring within Amazon are encouraged to look for similar positions at Whole Foods or Amazon grocery warehouses through the internal A to Z portal [6] Group 3: Employee Compensation - Grocery associates at Amazon Fresh typically earned between $16 and $20 per hour, according to data from job search site Indeed [7]

Cloud giant Amazon (AMZN) reported its fourth quarter results after the bell on Thursday as a miss on its Q1 operating income estimate and a massive expansion in capital expenditures for 2026 sent shares plunging. Amazon stock fell as much as 10% early Friday. In afternoon trading, the stock fell 6%. Amazon said it anticipates Q1 operating income of between $16.5 billion and $21.5 billion, below analysts' expectations of $22.2 billion. On top of that, the company said it will allocate upwards of $200 b ...

Cloud giant Amazon (AMZN) reported its fourth quarter results after the bell on Thursday, as a miss on its Q1 operating income estimate and a massive expansion in capex for 2026 sent shares plunging. Amazon stock fell around 10% in early trading Friday. Amazon said it anticipates Q1 operating income of between $16.5 billion and $21.5 billion, below analysts' expectations of $22.2 billion. On top of that, the company said it will spend upward of $200 billion on capex for the year, a massive jump from the ...

In 2025, Amazon underperformed big-cap peers despite strong business fundamentals, and after hitting an all-time high in November 2025, Amazon’s shares retreated and ended the year essentially flat, a disappointing outcome when the S&P 500 ($SPX) was up roughly 17%. However, in 2026, it began with modest gains for AMZN relative to its technical support levels.Other moves, like expanding cloud infrastructure, Trainium chips, new AWS data centers, investing in AI services, and Alexa upgrades, underscore Amazo ...

Amazon is laying off 2,198 employees across Washington as part of the company's latest corporate workforce reduction, according to a new filing released Monday by the state Employment Security Department. A detailed list included with the Washington state filing shows that software development roles account for the largest share of the layoffs, with engineering management, program management, and technical product roles also hit hard. In total, more than half of the cuts impact Amazon's core product and eng ...

The contrast shows two scale strategies: Amazon optimizes for efficiency and invisibility while Walmart bets on visibility and service layering.Walmart is expanding what stores do, using its footprint to add healthcare and other high-engagement services.Amazon is retreating from experimental stores but not the grocery category, shutting Amazon Go and Fresh to focus on logistics, delivery speed and capital efficiency, while planning 100 new Whole Foods locations.Amazon and Walmart are battling on two of the ...

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos‘ net worth increased by $5.7 billion to $266 billion on Wednesday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, after the e-commerce giant’s shares rose on plans to shut physical stores. Until last week, six of the top 10 billionaires lost wealth weeks into 2026, but the Amazon founder gained $300 million. Don't Miss: Bezos stands as the world's third-richest person, just behind Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) co-founder Larry Page. The top title is ...

Group 1 - Amazon announced a second round of layoffs, cutting 16,000 employees, which represents about 9% of its total workforce, following a previous layoff of 14,000 employees three months earlier [1][2] - The layoffs are part of a strategy to restructure the organization to adapt to the competitive pace of the AI era, with CEO Andy Jassy aiming to transform Amazon into "the world's largest startup" [1] - The company is reducing management layers, increasing accountability, and eliminating bureaucracy to enhance decision-making speed, although it is emphasized that such large-scale layoffs will not become the "new normal" [1][2] Group 2 - The layoffs are closely linked to Amazon's aggressive investment in artificial intelligence, with Jassy indicating that many existing jobs will be replaced as generative AI and AI agents become more prevalent [2] - Affected employees will receive a 90-day internal transfer buffer period, and if they do not find new positions, they will receive severance pay and related benefits [2] - Alongside the layoffs, Amazon is also scaling back its physical retail operations by closing Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go grocery businesses, focusing instead on the Whole Foods brand to concentrate resources against competitors like Microsoft and Google in the AI computing and large model sectors [2]

Core Insights - Amazon is discontinuing its Fresh grocery and Amazon Go convenience store concepts to refocus its grocery strategy on online delivery and Whole Foods [1][2] Group 1: Store Closures - Amazon will close all 57 Amazon Fresh stores and 15 Amazon Go locations due to the failure to provide a "truly distinctive customer experience" [2] - Some of the closed Amazon Fresh locations will be converted into Whole Foods stores [3] Group 2: Strategic Shift - Amazon aims to narrow the gap with Walmart, which holds a 21% market share in groceries, by enhancing online sales and quick delivery, while expanding its Whole Foods Market business [4] - Whole Foods has seen over 40% sales growth since Amazon's acquisition for $13.7 billion in 2017, and Amazon plans to add over 100 more Whole Foods locations in the coming years [4] Group 3: Online Grocery Performance - Amazon served over 150 million grocery customers last year, generating $150 billion in gross grocery and everyday-essentials sales [4] - The company introduced same-day delivery in over 5,000 U.S. cities and plans to expand this service in 2026 [4] Group 4: Technology and Market Position - Amazon Go's "Just Walk Out" technology has been licensed to over 360 third-party locations, despite the Go stores not gaining enough traction for further expansion [5] - Amazon Fresh supermarkets struggled to differentiate themselves from mainstream grocery stores, unlike Whole Foods, which has a clear market identity [6]