(Bloomberg) — Amazon.com Inc. shares rose on Monday and the e-commerce giant became the first of the mega-capitalization tech stocks to erase the year's losses.
The tech company's shares rose to 2.2% to US$3,366.63, trading at its highest level since Jan. 4. They now show no change for the year after falling by more than 18% earlier this month.
Among the other major internet and technology stocks, both Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc. are close to recovering their losses for the year and are down 2% each, while Microsoft Corp. is still nearly 9% below. Both Meta Platforms Inc and Netflix Inc. have experienced much steeper losses, with declines of more than 30% as they struggle to recover from weak forecasts. The Nasdaq 100 index has plummeted by around 9% in 2022.
Amazon regained its title of market leader after lagging behind in 2021. In early February, it reported fourth-quarter results that were much stronger than expected, easing concerns about its growth prospects after the pandemic and prompting the largest single-day gain from a US stock in market history. A month later, a 20-for-1 stock split was announced, leading to additional profits, as Wall Street bet that the move could generate greater interest from retail investors.
“We've seen a shift towards these types of high-quality growth names, with strong balance sheets and market positions, and Amazon's strength also reflects how strong the consumer segment remains,” said Randy Frederick, Charles Schwab's vice president of trading and derivatives.
Beyond these factors, major technology and internet stocks have seen a recovery in the last two weeks despite an increase in Treasury yields, indicating that a better profit outlook is beginning to overshadow concerns about a rising interest rate environment and geopolitical tensions.
Amazon's performance in 2022 contrasts with other names in the e-commerce space. eBay Inc. is down almost 13% this year, while Etsy Inc. and Wayfair Inc. are down more than 30%.
Original Note:
Amazon Regains Big Tech Leader Status After Erasing Year's Loss
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.