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Globe and Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Best Stock to Buy Right Now: Walmart vs. Amazon
Two popular stocks that some investors might have on their radar right now are the retail juggernaut Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and e-commerce leader Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN). Both companies offer investors exposure to retail spending, and each has managed to dominate its niche, becoming fantastic long-term investments along the way. But which one looks like the better stock to buy right now? Let's look at the case for both to see why this matchup looks pretty even across the board. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More » The case for Walmart Walmart's stock has been on a tear lately, skyrocketing 44% over the past year. Those gains come as the company continues to dominate the retail market, increase sales and earnings, and expand its services. Walmart's revenue rose about 5% in fiscal 2025 (which ended Jan. 31) to $681 billion, and its non-GAAP earnings rose 26% to $2.41 per share. The company's e-commerce sales surged 20% in the U.S., proving that Walmart is successfully expanding its business beyond its brick-and-mortar locations. It is also seeing strong growth from its advertising segment (up 24% in the U.S.). One of the biggest draws of owning Walmart stock is that its business is nearly recession-proof. The company holds about 21% of the grocery market in the U.S., and even during tough times, Americans buy groceries. There's also evidence that higher-income shoppers are moving toward Walmart as well, as they look for better deals in an uncertain economy. With its strong position in retail, groceries, and its impressive sales and earnings, there's a lot to like about Walmart stock. Add to all of this the fact that Walmart pays a 1% dividend yield and has raised its dividend annually for over 50 years, and it's easy to see why this value stock is a mainstay in so many portfolios. The case for Amazon Amazon is an equally popular consumer goods stock, but the company has several business segments that have little to do with consumer goods, but a lot to do with the profits the company makes. For example, its North American e-commerce revenue accounts for about 61% of overall revenue last year, but just 36% of operating income. Meanwhile, the company's Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing segment accounted for almost 17% of overall revenue, but it brought in about 58% of all operating income. Amazon controls about 30% of the cloud computing market, and it's an important business for Amazon, considering that artificial intelligence could push global cloud computing sales up to $2 trillion over the next five years. It is also making multiple investments in AI that are likely to pay off (and already paying off in some cases) in the coming years. And then there's Amazon's fastest-growing business: Advertising. Sales from this high-margin segment popped 18% year over year in the first quarter (which ended March 31) and generated nearly $14 billion in revenue. Amazon is benefiting from its massive e-commerce platform of more than 200 million Prime members, which will likely continue to attract a lot of ad dollars in the future. eMarketer estimates Amazon could take 17% of the digital ad market in 2026, up from 11% in 2021. While Amazon doesn't pay a dividend, the company does have impressive financial growth. Total revenue rose 11% to $638 billion in 2024, and its non-GAAP earnings per share jumped 91% to $5.53. The company also ended the year with $38.2 billion in free cash flow, an increase of about 4% from the previous year. Which is the better stock? It depends on your goals Both Amazon and Walmart deserve a place in your portfolio, but deciding which one is better for you depends on what type of stock you're looking for. If you want to invest in a company that's essentially recession-proof and that has a long history of consistent (and growing) dividend payments, then Walmart is a no-brainer choice. On the other hand, if you want a strong e-commerce growth stock that's also benefiting from cloud computing, AI, and advertising, then go with Amazon. Walmart has a price-to-earnings ratio of about 41, while Amazon's is about 36. That's not much of a difference when it comes to deciding which is the better value. Which means that if you have enough to buy both stocks right now, it's probably a smart move. If not, then pick the one that best fits your investment goals. Should you invest $1,000 in Walmart right now? Before you buy stock in Walmart, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Walmart wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $697,627!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $939,655!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is1,045% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to178%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 30, 2025 John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Chris Neiger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Amazon's AI And Robotic Investments Signal A Growing Human Workforce
The Inc. BHM1 fulfillment center is seen before sunrise on March 29, 2021 in Bessemer, ... More Alabama. - Votes are set to be counted on March 29, 2021 on whether to create the first Amazon union in the United States, at a warehouse in Alabama, after a historic, five months-long David vs Goliath campaign. "I'm proud of the workers at Amazon for standing up and saying enough," said Joshua Brewer, the local president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) Leave it to traditional media to miss the point. Specifically, all the recent coverage of Amazon CEO Andy Jassy's comment that AI advances would empower the Seattle technology and retail giant to replace human effort in its executive suite. The insinuation has been that Amazon is positioning itself to permanently downsize its roster of human workers that require nights and weekends off, lunch and bathroom breaks, and - gasp – vacations. Quite the opposite. As these columns have been arguing for years, Amazon spends enormous sums on the automation of human effort to enhance the productivity of the same humans in its employ. What's true in its warehouses is similarly true for its executives. Investment in automation and thought is not about shrinking its workforce, rather it's about automating what saps human effort to substantially expand that same human productivity. It's already revealing itself. Think a Wall Street Journal article from this week that indicated 'There will soon be as many robots as humans' in Amazon's warehouses. Well, of course. Why on earth would Amazon invest such substantial amounts in human capital with an eye on shedding it? Humans aren't a cost, they're an input. Amazon's sizable investment in AI and other robotic advances (said to be over $70 billion in 2025 alone) plainly isn't taking place to jettison the humans it's put so much money into, but to elevate them. That's why the proliferation of robots in Amazon's warehouses won't occur to the employment detriment of the humans working alongside them as much as it will increase the urgency of expanding its human workforce. Think about it. And in thinking about it, contemplate what happens to the productivity of humans when their work is paired with other hands, human and mechanical. It skyrockets, and the reason it skyrockets has to do with the happy fact that specialized workers are exponentially more productive. What this foretells about Amazon warehouses that will almost certainly grow in both size and number is that the powerful need for Amazon to hire many more capable workers will grow by leaps and bounds. See its investment in robotic and AI advances yet again. Every dollar spent propels the effort of humans to greater and greater heights. What's true in Amazon's warehouses will be true within its various executive suites. That AI advances have the capacity to replace so much human effort is a certain sign that the value of human effort within Amazon's executive workforce is set to soar. This is what a media stalked by zero-sum thinking failed to grasp in Jassy's comment. Naturally Amazon's AI investment will render redundant a lot of human effort. Technology by its very name replaces human effort, but never at the expense of opportunity. If technological advances were the path to breadlines, then logic indicates the world's poorest locales would be its most technologically advanced. Which is backwards. More realistically, progress is defined not by what workers are doing on the job, but what they're no longer doing. Assuming Amazon's copious investment in AI and robotics bears fruit, it will have a much larger workforce employed in much better, much more productive ways than a much smaller workforce toiled before the automation. The future is bright for Amazon, and humans in general, exactly because Amazon and other corporations like it think so much of their existing and future workers as to invest in technology that will free them from substantial amounts of wasted effort. The growing number of robots in its warehouses is yet more evidence of this brilliant truth.
Toronto Sun
19-06-2025
- Business
- Toronto Sun
Amazon orders some corporate employees to relocate to Seattle and other U.S. hubs
One source said the relocation policy will affect thousands of employees on several teams Published Jun 19, 2025 • 2 minute read The Amazon Inc. headquarters in Seattle, Washington on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. Photo by David Ryder / Bloomberg Inc. is ordering some corporate employees to move closer to their managers and teams, roiling a workforce already worried about job cuts and warnings from the top that artificial intelligence will shrink their ranks in the coming years. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Workers are being told to relocate to such cities as Seattle; Arlington, Virginia; and Washington DC, which in some cases would require them to move across the country, according to people familiar with the situation. Amazon is mostly rolling out the mandate in one-on-one meetings and town halls rather than sending out a mass email, said the people, who requested anonymity because they aren't authorized to discuss company plans. One of the people said the relocation policy will affect thousands of employees on several teams. Mid-career professionals with children in school and partners in established careers are reluctant to make big moves in light of Amazon's belt-tightening efforts. An Amazon spokesperson said 'for more than a year now, some teams have been working to bring their teammates closer together to help them be as effective as possible, but there isn't a one-size-fits all approach and there hasn't been a change in our approach as a company.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Amazon employees have been sharing information about the relocation mandate on the company's internal slack channels, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg. One employee said their manager informed the team of the need to relocate and told them they had 30 days to make a decision. Then they had 60 days to either resign or begin their relocation process, according to the person, who said they were told there would be no severance for employees who resigned in lieu of relocating. The company spokesperson said 'we hear from the majority of our teammates that they love the energy from being located together, and whenever someone chooses to or is asked to relocate, we work with them to offer support based on their individual circumstances.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. When Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy ordered employees to return to the office five days a week beginning earlier this year, there was no requirement that they move to specific offices. Amazon has satellite workplaces around the country, including major metropolitan areas like New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Dallas and Austin, giving workers some flexibility about where they lived. Many employees were hired to fully remote positions during the pandemic. In 2022, Jassy initiated Amazon's biggest-ever round of corporate job cuts, which ultimately eliminated 27,000 positions across the Seattle-based company. There have since been several smaller rounds of reductions targeting particular departments. Telling workers to relocate will likely prompt some to quit, which can be a less expensive way to reduce headcount than executing layoffs and paying severance packages. Jassy on Tuesday said he expects the company's workforce to shrink in coming years due to AI advancements that will be capable of performing some employee functions. The announcement, while not entirely unexpected, set off a round of hand-wringing on internal messaging boards. NHL Soccer Columnists Sunshine Girls Toronto Maple Leafs
Bloomberg
17-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Amazon's Jassy Says AI Will Reduce Company's Corporate Workforce
By and Spencer Soper Save Inc. Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy says he expects the company's workforce to decline in the next few years as the retail and cloud-computing giant uses artificial intelligence to handle more tasks. Generative AI and AI-powered software agents 'should change the way our work is done,' Jassy said in an email to employees on Tuesday that laid out his thinking about how the emerging technology will transform the workplace.
Globe and Mail
16-06-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
I Would Put $5,000 Into These Stocks and Never Sell
My investing strategy has always been to buy a stock and plan to hold it for decades. In some cases, parting ways with a stock is needed if the business fundamentally changes for the worse, but for the most part, the real value comes over the long run. Buying shares with the intention of holding them makes it easier to accept the inevitable ups and downs and focus on the long-term value you'll (ideally) receive from them. Letting time and compound earnings do the heavy lifting is one of the surest ways to build wealth in the stock market. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » With $5,000 to invest (or any amount, really), I would put it into the following two companies and not look back. They operate in different industries, but are both poised to continue being great businesses for the long haul. 1. Amazon Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has been one of the premier growth stocks over the past 20 years, up around 11,600% compared to the S&P 500 's 400% gains over that span. Although Amazon is undoubtedly known for its bustling e-commerce business, it has evolved into one of tech's most thorough conglomerates. The once-humble online bookseller has now ventured into e-commerce, cloud computing, media and entertainment, and advertising. E-commerce continues to be a massive moneymaker, with its North America and International segments combining for over $126 billion in sales in the first quarter -- this includes subscription revenue, third-party sellers, and more. For perspective, that's more than AT&T made in its last four quarters combined, and nearly double Amazon's total revenue just six years ago. AMZN Revenue (Quarterly) data by YCharts. Having e-commerce as the engine that fuels other business ventures has allowed the company to invest heavily in high-growth segments and focus on innovation. The one that has benefited the most is its cloud service, Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS is the world's largest cloud platform and has been a major growth driver over the past decade. So much so that as a stand-alone company, AWS would easily be one of the top 100 revenue-generating public companies in the world. It will continue to be Amazon's profit maker, but other segments, such as Amazon Prime, its various healthcare ventures, advertising, and its logistics network offer significant long-term upside. Amazon has become one of the best companies at diversifying its business and revenue streams, better prepping it to withstand whatever economic conditions come its way. If you're looking for a stock to hold for the long haul, that's one quality you want to look for. 2. Visa Visa (NYSE: V) is a stock that I've committed to consistently buying because it's arguably the most important company in the global payments ecosystem. And it has become that by simply playing middleman, connecting consumers, businesses, and banks. As of the beginning of this year, Visa had 4.8 billion payment credentials (cards, digital wallets, etc.), was accepted by over 150 million merchants, and issued cards for around 14,500 financial institutions. That's a large reach that even its next closest competitor, Mastercard, won't be able to touch for quite a while. Since Visa operates only the payment network and doesn't issue cards or offer credit, its business is able to operate with high margins and minimal credit risk. If you own a Chase credit card in Visa's network and decide not to pay your balance, you owe Chase, not Visa. Operating as a high-margin, relatively low-risk business has given it the free cash flow it needs to continue expanding its payment network and investing in other financial innovations. Visa receives a boost with the payment network due to the network effect. It is the most widely accepted card, so people prefer to own its cards; and it's the most widely owned card, so businesses prefer to accept Visa. V Free Cash Flow (Quarterly) data by YCharts. Network effects aside, it's essential that the company maintains an innovative mindset because the payments landscape is rapidly changing with the introduction of new technologies. Luckily, Visa has shown that it's not in the business of complacency, which is what you want from the industry leader and the stock you plan to hold on to for the long haul. Should you invest $1,000 in Amazon right now? Before you buy stock in Amazon, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Amazon wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $653,702!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $870,207!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is988% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to172%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Stefon Walters has positions in Visa. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, Mastercard, and Visa. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
