It hasn’t happened since 1999. Amazon has announced its first stock split in 23 years to date. This stock split, which technically does not change the value of the company but often stimulates investor optimism, is the fourth in Jeff Bezos’ 28-year history. But the last one dates back to September 1999.
The choice was made official on Wednesday, March 9, after the close of the markets. And the stock accelerated fast, in extended trading, consolidating today’s growth of more than 5 percent. The announced split is 20 for 1, so Amazon shareholders will receive 20 shares for each coupon they currently hold. At current value (around $ 3,000), an Amazon share could be worth around $ 146. Much more approachable for an investor retail.
The split, in any case, will take shape at the close of the markets on Friday 3 June, to be tradable as early as the following Monday (6 June).
Another piece of news, announced by the company, also took care of Amazon’s title. The board of directors of the Bezos company, in fact, has authorized a buy back of shares worth up to $ 10 billion. The repurchase operation has no expiration date and replaces a previous authorization from 2016, for $ 5 billion, which to date had led to the repurchase of shares for $ 2.12 billion.
The stock split announced by Amazon is in fact the same as already communicated by Alphabet (Google) last month, since even in that case the stock split is equal to 20 for 1. But in the world of Big Tech it has also happened in the very recent past with Apple and Tesla, which in 2020, in the midst of the market surge during the pandemic, announced their respective stock splits, 4 for 1 and 5 for 1 respectively.