Amazon effect on global equities. The thud of the stock following the publication of the third quarter accounts by the US e-commerce giant feeds fears about the future of US Big Tech, after the eve of the alert confirmed by the collapse of Meta Platforms-ex Facebook.
At about 12 noon Italian time, the futures on the Dow Jones fell by 0.26%, those on the S&P 500 lost 0.77%, while those on the Nasdaq slipped by more than 1.2%.
Amazon’s quotations slipped to -20% after the publication of a balance sheet that highlighted a better-than-expected eps but disappointing revenue. To be precise, Amazon’s earnings per share stood at 28 cents, beating estimates by 22 cents. Net sales amounted to $ 127.10 billion, up 15% y / y year on year, but below the expected $ 127.64 billion.
Also disappointing was the AWS division’s net-based revenue, which jumped 27% year-on-year to $ 20.5 billion, but below the expected $ 21 billion.
Amazon’s operating profit stood at $ 2.53 billion, slipping 48% year-on-year, below the projected $ 3.11 billion.
Also disappointing was the fourth quarter guidance announced by Amazon.
The giant founded by Jeff Bezos expects revenues of between $ 140 and $ 148 billion, corresponding to an annual growth rate of between 2% and 8%. Analysts interviewed by Refinitiv had instead estimated a higher turnover, equal to $ 155.15 billion.
Amazon’s accounts follow those of Meta Platforms, which highlighted a net profit that collapsed by 52%, a better-than-expected but declining turnover, and a disappointing guidance, which fueled doubts about the metaverse dream of the group’s CEO. Mark Zuckerberg.
The Meta stock collapsed yesterday by more than 24% (in the premarket it marks a slight decline). The sales on the stocks were such that, combined with those of the previous weeks and months, they brought the market value of the former Facebook – which 16 months ago had crossed the $ 1 trillion threshold for the first time, entering Olympus. of the mega-caps Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon – to fall below that of Home Depot, slightly higher than those of Pfizer and Coca-Cola.
Yesterday, after the end of the session on Wall Street, Apple also published its accounts. Earnings and turnover beat analysts’ expectations. However, the turnover of some core segments of the iPhone giant’s business proved to be lower than expected. The Apple stock still managed to collect a 1% gain in afterhours trading on Wall Street, even if now, in the premarket, it is dampening the rises.
In addition to Big Tech, today the completion of the acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk, Tesla’s number one, is protagonist.
Musk, who has already updated his Twitter profile, now calling himself “Chief Twit”, tweeted: “The bird is freed”, hinting that social media “has been liberated”.
According to reports from some US sources, Musk fired on the spot the ceo Parag Agrawal, the ceo financial director Ned Segal the head of legal affairs Vijaya Gadde, after accusing them all, in the previous months, of having deceived him and other investors on the number. fake social media accounts. The Twitter stock was suspended from trading on Wall Street today.
Prices rallied nearly 65% from the four-month low tested in July. The Twitter acquisition deal is worth a total of $ 44 billion, $ 54.20 per TWTR share. In the premarket, Tesla falls by about 1.5%.
Yesterday the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 194.17 points, or 0.6%, to 32,033.28 points, reporting the fifth consecutive session of gains. The S&P 500 closed 0.6% lower at 3,807.30 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.6% to 10,792.68.
The balance of the week is however mainly positive for the US indices, with the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 oriented to close up on a weekly basis by 3% and 1.5% and the Nasdaq, victim of the sell offs that have hit the Big Tech USA, slightly down.
Attention today also to the Chinese Big Tech listed in both Hong Kong and New York, after the bloodbath that took place in Hong Kong:
Tencent lost more than 5%, Meituan plunged more than 8%; unleashed disposals of more than 5% also on Xiaomi and Alibaba.
The stock of Chinese electric car maker EV Xpeng tumbled more than 14%. Li Auto suffered a crash of more than -11%.
The Hong Kong stock exchange fell by 3.66%, after losing more than 4% during the session, plummeting to new lows since 2009, in the wake of fears related to the world of global hi-tech and discounting, even in this case, the tumble of Amazon. But Chinese stocks in particular have discounted the words of US Commerce Undersecretary Alan Estevez, who anticipated reaching an agreement between the United States and its allies to place restrictions on semiconductor exports to China.
Expected today for the publication in the US of the preferred parameter by the Fed to monitor the inflation trend, or the core PCE, announced with the publication of the data relating to consumption expenditure and personal income. The market is hoping for a slowdown in view of the upcoming meeting of the FOMC, the monetary policy arm of the Federal Reserve, scheduled for November 1-2. The consensus predicts the fourth consecutive rate hike of 75 basis points, aimed at curbing US inflation, from the current range between 3% and 3.25%.