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How Amazon Has Been Building Momentum Into Its Q1 Earnings

Chris Lange

Published: April 26, 2018 8:50 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 12:27 am

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is poised to post its most recent quarterly results after the markets close on Thursday. The consensus forecast is $1.26 in earnings per share (EPS) and $49.88 billion in revenue. The first quarter of last year reportedly had $1.48 per share on $35.71 billion.

In CEO Jeff Bezos’s annual shareholder letter, it was noted that Prime membership has reached 100 million. What does Prime get Amazon, other than $99 a year (in the United States) from each member?

Bezos wrote:

13 years post-launch, we have exceeded 100 million paid Prime members globally. In 2017 Amazon shipped more than five billion items with Prime worldwide, and more new members joined Prime than in any previous year – both worldwide and in the U.S. Members in the U.S. now receive unlimited free two-day shipping on over 100 million different items.

Also, in a recent groundbreaking announcement, Amazon said that it will start to offer deliveries to some cars. According to The Wall Street Journal:

Amazon.com Inc. is now delivering packages right to the car.

The company said Tuesday it has joined with General Motors Co. and Volvo Cars to start offering in-car deliveries, giving its couriers access to potentially millions of vehicles in 37 U.S. markets. The deal expands Amazon’s effort to get consumers comfortable with the idea of strangers entering their homes and cars as the company handles more packages.

Amazon has outperformed the broad markets, with its stock up about 61% in the past 52 weeks. In just 2018 alone, the stock is up 25%.

A few analysts weighed in on Amazon ahead of its earnings report:

• KeyCorp has a Hold rating.
• Stifel has a Buy rating.
• Wedbush has a Buy rating with a $1,750 price target.
• Credit Suisse has an Outperform rating and a $1,800 target.
• Goldman Sachs has a Buy rating.
• Morgan Stanley has a Buy rating with a $1,550 price target.
• JPMorgan has a Buy rating.

Shares of Amazon closed Wednesday at $1,460.17, with a consensus analyst price target of $1,675.20 and a 52-week range of $912.11 to $1,617.54. The stock was up about 2% at $1,489.00 in early trading indications Thursday.