The debt ratings agencies have been accused of being very late to the party on the financial crisis. But investors still watch the ratings changes from them, particularly when there is an upgrade in the challenging current climate. Today ,S&P raised the ratings of web retail behemoth Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) to “investment grade.”
Amazon was raised two notches from “BB+” to “BBB”, a notch above the lowest in the investment grade category. The unsecured debt was also raised to ‘BBB-‘ from ‘BB+’. Its outlook is classified as “stable.”
S&P noted Amazon.com’s strong brand, its robust performance, and its improved credit protection metrics. The note also said that Bezos and friends have maintained solid performance during “this especially difficult retailing environment.”
Amazon’s top-line growth and EBITDA growth led to the changes in the company’s business risk and credit rating.
Jon C. Ogg
February 13, 2009
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