A combination of cost-cutting and AI-led growth could give this e-commerce leader a bright future.
With its shares up 23% year to date, Amazon (AMZN 1.43%) has finally bounced back from its post-pandemic slump. The recovery hinged on streamlining its e-commerce business and pivoting to exciting new growth drivers like artificial intelligence (AI).
Let’s explore how these dynamics can continue to unfold over the next three years.
A leaner and meaner Amazon
While layoffs and cost-cutting can invoke a feeling of dread for middle managers and other replaceable employees, they can be great news to investors who want a more streamlined and profitable company. For Amazon, these controversial efforts are delivering in a big way.
The company’s first-quarter revenue increased by a modest 13% year over year to $143.3 billion, but operating income surged more than 200% to $15.3 billion. Many of these improvements came from unlocking efficiencies in North American and international e-commerce, which had previously suffered from weak margins because of pandemic-era overexpansion under Amazon’s former CEO, Jeff Bezos.
The new CEO, Andy Jassy, is extensively cutting costs. He also isn’t just chasing short-term profits.
And Jassy is refocusing the company on what historically made it so successful in the first place: the customer experience. In the first quarter, Amazon achieved its fastest-ever delivery speeds, with nearly 60% of Prime members’ orders arriving within two days in the country’s 60 largest metro areas.
And in major international cities including London, Tokyo, and Toronto, three out of four items arrived within two days.
Investors shouldn’t expect the massive e-commerce business to be a big growth driver over the next three years. But the company can leverage its scale and operational efficiencies to maintain its dominant position, keeping customers satisfied while delivering reliable profits to investors.