It was a brutal year for mega-cap tech stocks across the board. But 2022 was especially rough for Amazon.
Shares of the e-retailer are wrapping up their worst year since the dot-com crash. The stock has tumbled 51% in 2022, marking the biggest decline since 2000, when it plunged 80%. Only Tesla, down 68%, and Meta, off 66%, have had a worse year among the most valuable tech companies.
Amazon’s market cap has shrunk to about $834 billion from $1.7 trillion to start the year. The company fell out of the trillion-dollar club last month.
Much of Amazon’s misfortunes are tied to the economy and macro environment. Soaring inflation and rising interest rates have pushed investors away from growth and into companies with high profit margins, consistent cash flow and high dividend yields.
But Amazon investors have had other reasons to exit the stock. The company is contending with slowing sales, as predictions of a sustained post-Covid e-commerce boom didn’t pan out. At the height of the pandemic, consumers came to depend on online retailers like Amazon for goods ranging from toilet paper and face masks to patio furniture. That drove Amazon’s stock to record highs as sales soared.
Full article: www.cnbc.com/2022/12/29/amazon-shed-half-its-value-in-2022-as-tech-stocks-got-crushed.html