Amazon (AMZN) stock is on watch ahead of the e-commerce giant’s fourth quarter earnings after the bell today.
Investors will be paying attention to Amazon’s costs associated with labor and fulfillment centers, as well as growth in the company’s cloud unit, Amazon Web Services (AWS).
These are the top- and bottom-line consensus estimates expected by Wall Street analysts, according to Bloomberg data.
Earnings per share: $8.03
Revenue: $137.87 bilion
‘Top FANG stock’
A “tight labor market is expected to keep costs elevated for the next few quarters,” notes Jefferies analyst Brent Thill. Amazon has been offering sign-on bonuses and lofty wages to attract workers during the pandemic. Last year the company spent billions on COVID health-related costs to ensure a safe working environment.
BofA this week reaffirmed its Buy rating on the stock, saying it is still its top FANG pick for 2022.
“We continue to favor Amazon as our top FANG stock in 2022 with the view that 1Q will be a low point for growth and y/y margins … Trends get better from here. We think results will highlight that Amazon is taking share in the eCommerce sector and is benefitting from Cloud industry strength, and we think enterprise exposure (corporate CAPEX cycle) is a positive AMZN differentiator in 2022,” wrote analysts from BofA Global Research.
The company’s AWS unit grew 39% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2021. The Street is looking for another robust growth figure for AWS for the fourth quarter.
Tight labor market
The Street will also focus on labor costs, supply chain issues and costs related to investments in Amazon’s fulfillment centers. Consumers leaned heavily into buying online during the pandemic, driving up costs for labor and delivery.
Amazon is often used to gauge the strength of the consumer and buying patterns. A tight labor market forced Amazon and other e-commerce giants to increase wages and offer bonuses in a bid to bring in workers.
Inflation and rate hikes
The stock has under-performed among the FAANG names. Last year Amazon only gained a few percentage points. Year-to-date the stock is down about 11% percent as high growth names have taken a beating over the prospects of higher inflation and rising interest rates.
The Street though is still bullish on the stock. Out of the analysts tracked by Bloomberg, all 59 have a Buy rating on Amazon, with an average price target of $4,100 per share. The stock is currently trading at around $3,000.
Big tech names have been in the spotlight this week after a blowout quarters from Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT). Information Technology and Communications Services stocks took a beating following Meta (FB)’s disappointing quarter.
Ines is a markets reporter covering stocks from the floor of the Nasdaq. Follow her on Twitter at @ines_ferre
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Ines is a markets reporter covering stocks from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Follow her on Twitter at @ines_ferre
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
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