Evercore ISI Sticks to Their Buy Rating for Amazon (AMZN)
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According to TipRanks, Mahaney is a 5-star analyst with an average return of 14.3% and a 58.16% success rate. Mahaney covers the Communication Services sector, focusing on stocks such as Alphabet Class A, Meta Platforms, and Netflix.
In addition to Evercore ISI, Amazon also received a Buy from TR | OpenAI – 4o's Rina Curatex in a report issued yesterday. However, on August 1, Wells Fargo reiterated a Hold rating on Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN).
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Geek Wire
31 minutes ago
- Geek Wire
Seattle leaders pass tax hike for big companies, cuts for small biz – but voters get final word
View of Seattle's downtown and Harbor Island, the city's maritime shipping hub, from the Smith Tower. (GeekWire Photo / Lisa Stiffler) With a mix of hand-wringing and can-do enthusiasm, Seattle City Council members this afternoon unanimously passed a tax overhaul that would eliminate business taxes for thousands of small companies while significantly raising rates on the city's biggest revenue generators, including Amazon. The measure now goes to voters to decide its fate. The Seattle Shield Initiative would nix the city's business and occupation (B&O) tax for companies earning up to $2 million annually, while boosting rates on receipts above that threshold. City officials project the restructured tax would generate an additional $80 million per year, with funds designated for human services programs such as support for food insecurity, services for immigrants, drug abuse funding and other programming. Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck proposed the legislation on June 25, and needed its approval by today so that it could be included on the Nov. 4 ballot. The measure was originally intended to help plug a $250 million projected budget shortfall for Seattle and to aid in backfilling federal funding that's being cut by the Trump administration. On Monday, councilmembers received a more favorable forecast, learning that the two-year budget deficit is expected to be $150 million. Seattle has struggled for years to find politically viable funding solutions for city services, affordable housing, and downtown recovery efforts following the COVID pandemic. In November, the council narrowly rejected a 2% capital gains tax on stock and bond sale profits exceeding $262,000 as a partial solution to the revenue challenges. A comparison of business and occupation taxes in Seattle and surrounding cities, as produced by Seattle's Office of Economic and Revenue Forecasts and City Budget Office Chart and shared on Aug. 4, 2025. Some city leaders expressed concerns about Seattle's B&O taxes outpacing those collected elsewhere. Jon Scholes, president and CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association, previously called the B&O tax overhaul 'a boneheaded proposal of epic proportions' that would put 'big risks to the fragile commercial tax base.' GeekWire reached out to Amazon for comment on the proposal. A service business company with $20 million in gross revenue that currently pays $85,400 in B&O taxes would see that number rise to $117,720 if voters approve the changes. A corporation earning $100 million would go from $427,000 up to $640,920. The rates are lower for big businesses in retail, wholesale and manufacturing. City staff earlier noted that the legislation would shrink the B&O tax base from 21,000 taxpayers to just 5,000, potentially creating less predictable revenue collections. Among those sharing reservations on the measure — while still voting in favor of it — was City Council President Sara Nelson. 'This was a rushed process,' Nelson said. 'We are talking about completely restructuring the way we charge B&O taxes, which makes up about a third of our general fund revenue, and could have pretty profound impacts on our economy and — most importantly — jobs.' The council rejected tax exemptions targeting the maritime industry, while adding B&O breaks for Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and Seattle Children's. Rinck framed the bill as smart, progressive policy for safeguarding city services and expressed optimism that voters would agree. 'Once the voters provide us with this tool, we can ensure that critical city services are maintained despite the challenges … our budget or the Trump administration presents,' she said. 'We will also be giving Seattle voters a choice on shielding our small businesses — the heartbeat of our neighborhoods — from economic uncertainty.' Key details Under the Seattle Shield Initiative: The B&O tax threshold exemption increases from $100,000 to $2 million in gross revenue. Businesses that exceed that threshold would not pay tax on the first $2 million. An estimated 76% of small- and medium-sized businesses would no longer pay the tax. About 90% of all businesses would pay less than they do currently. Retail, wholesale and manufacturing businesses above the $2 million exemption would pay 34 cents per $100, up from 22 cents. Service companies would see a jump from 43 cents per $100 up to 65 cents. RELATED:
CNBC
32 minutes ago
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Jim Cramer attributes market resilience to Big Tech's earnings success
CNBC's Jim Cramer reviewed Monday's market action and told investors that stocks' rebound from last week was lead by positive news from the Magnificent Seven Tech stocks — Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Nvidia and Tesla. "Now, some of that may be because…the Fed has to cut, maybe even before September — I mean, that's how weak the employment numbers are," he said. "But at the heart of the market's resilience is, well…the Magnificent Seven." The indexes closed in the red on Friday as investors worried about a much weaker-than-expected labor report and President Donald Trump's modification of "reciprocal" tariffs on a number of countries. But stocks reversed course on Monday, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.34%, the S&P 500 added 1.47% and the Nasdaq Composite surged 1.95%. The market doesn't seem to be concerned that Trump suddenly fired the Bureau of Labor and Statistics Commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, and accused her of manipulating jobs data, Cramer said. Many of stocks that had been strong on Thursday but sank on Friday proceeded to recoup their losses during Monday's session, he pointed out. Cramer reviewed recent earnings from the tech titans, starting with Microsoft. He called the quarter "flawless," saying the company seems to be doing well in every segment of business. He noted that its cloud infrastructure division, Azure, saw a huge acceleration in growth. Cramer was also impressed with some figures from Meta's recent report, especially management's claim that 3.5 billion people use at least one Meta product a day. Alphabet is seeing success throughout the company, Cramer said, including its Google search business, Youtube and AI product, Gemini. He also said the Waymo business is building a nice lead over the rest of the autonomous vehicle space. Apple had a "tremendous" report, Cramer continued, emphasizing its better-than-expected growth. He was encouraged by management's comments on artificial intelligence innovations in the future. Amazon also did well, Cramer continued, with good results from retail sales and advertising revenue, as well as decent numbers from the web services division. While Cramer said Tesla's vehicle business is poor, he said it's doing very well as a tech company. He suggested it's worth owning for its autonomous driving and robots. Although Nvidia has yet to report, Cramer expressed optimism about the chipmaker and demand for its products. "Even though the Mag Seven has one hand tied behind its back with Tesla, we had tepid reactions to Apple and Amazon's numbers," he said. "The fact is that these companies, loaded with cash, not outrageously expensive — nation states, I call them — with multiple revenue streams and tight expenses, just can't be beat by any stretch of the numbers or the imagination." Click here to download Jim Cramer's Guide to Investing at no cost to help you build long-term wealth and invest The CNBC Investing Club Charitable Trust owns shares of Nvidia, Meta, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Alphabet.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Axon (NASDAQ:AXON) Reports Upbeat Q2, Full-Year Outlook Slightly Exceeds Expectations
Self defense company AXON (NASDAQ:AXON) reported Q2 CY2025 results topping the market's revenue expectations , with sales up 32.8% year on year to $668.5 million. The company's full-year revenue guidance of $2.69 billion at the midpoint came in 1.2% above analysts' estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $2.12 per share was 45% above analysts' consensus estimates. Is now the time to buy Axon? Find out in our full research report. Axon (AXON) Q2 CY2025 Highlights: Revenue: $668.5 million vs analyst estimates of $641 million (32.8% year-on-year growth, 4.3% beat) Adjusted EPS: $2.12 vs analyst estimates of $1.46 (45% beat) Adjusted EBITDA: $171.6 million vs analyst estimates of $160.7 million (25.7% margin, 6.8% beat) The company lifted its revenue guidance for the full year to $2.69 billion at the midpoint from $2.65 billion, a 1.5% increase EBITDA guidance for the full year is $675 million at the midpoint, in line with analyst expectations Operating Margin: -0.2%, down from 6.7% in the same quarter last year Free Cash Flow was -$114.7 million, down from $75.3 million in the same quarter last year Market Capitalization: $57.8 billion Company Overview Providing body cameras and tasers for first responders, AXON (NASDAQ:AXON) develops technology solutions and weapons products for military, law enforcement, and civilians. Revenue Growth A company's long-term performance is an indicator of its overall quality. Any business can have short-term success, but a top-tier one grows for years. Thankfully, Axon's 32.3% annualized revenue growth over the last five years was incredible. Its growth surpassed the average industrials company and shows its offerings resonate with customers, a great starting point for our analysis. We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within industrials, a half-decade historical view may miss cycles, industry trends, or a company capitalizing on catalysts such as a new contract win or a successful product line. Axon's annualized revenue growth of 32.4% over the last two years aligns with its five-year trend, suggesting its demand was predictably strong. This quarter, Axon reported wonderful year-on-year revenue growth of 32.8%, and its $668.5 million of revenue exceeded Wall Street's estimates by 4.3%. Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 23.2% over the next 12 months, a deceleration versus the last two years. Despite the slowdown, this projection is healthy and indicates the market is baking in success for its products and services. Software is eating the world and there is virtually no industry left that has been untouched by it. That drives increasing demand for tools helping software developers do their jobs, whether it be monitoring critical cloud infrastructure, integrating audio and video functionality, or ensuring smooth content streaming. Click here to access a free report on our 3 favorite stocks to play this generational megatrend. Operating Margin Operating margin is an important measure of profitability as it shows the portion of revenue left after accounting for all core expenses – everything from the cost of goods sold to advertising and wages. It's also useful for comparing profitability across companies with different levels of debt and tax rates because it excludes interest and taxes. Axon was profitable over the last five years but held back by its large cost base. Its average operating margin of 1.8% was weak for an industrials business. On the plus side, Axon's operating margin rose by 17.7 percentage points over the last five years, as its sales growth gave it immense operating leverage. This quarter, Axon's breakeven margin was down 6.9 percentage points year on year. This contraction shows it was less efficient because its expenses grew faster than its revenue. Earnings Per Share Revenue trends explain a company's historical growth, but the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) points to the profitability of that growth – for example, a company could inflate its sales through excessive spending on advertising and promotions. Axon's EPS grew at an astounding 45.6% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years, higher than its 32.3% annualized revenue growth. This tells us the company became more profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded. Diving into Axon's quality of earnings can give us a better understanding of its performance. As we mentioned earlier, Axon's operating margin declined this quarter but expanded by 17.7 percentage points over the last five years. This was the most relevant factor (aside from the revenue impact) behind its higher earnings; interest expenses and taxes can also affect EPS but don't tell us as much about a company's fundamentals. Like with revenue, we analyze EPS over a more recent period because it can provide insight into an emerging theme or development for the business. For Axon, its two-year annual EPS growth of 46.5% is similar to its five-year trend, implying strong and stable earnings power. In Q2, Axon reported adjusted EPS at $2.12, up from $1.20 in the same quarter last year. This print easily cleared analysts' estimates, and shareholders should be content with the results. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Axon's full-year EPS of $7.06 to shrink by 6.1%. Key Takeaways from Axon's Q2 Results We were impressed that Axon beat analysts' revenue and EBITDA expectations this quarter. Looking ahead, full-year revenue guidance was raised, showing a strong demand environment. Zooming out, we think this was a good print with some key areas of upside. The stock traded up 4.1% to $773 immediately following the results. Sure, Axon had a solid quarter, but if we look at the bigger picture, is this stock a buy? The latest quarter does matter, but not nearly as much as longer-term fundamentals and valuation, when deciding if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here, it's free.
