Amazon is widely expected to post strong (fourth-quarter) revenue, but margins may be more of an issue. Intense price competition, technology investments and increased shipping cost subsidization may create an uninspiring 4Q report.
They may take the $30 rise in the stock price as an unexpected end of quarter bonus. It helps a lot of portfolios. But in order to book that gain, they'd have to sell into the strength.
As the media business evolves, and companies are looking to mix both content with distribution, Disney must make some changes.
The question really comes down to how long could it take.
They are talking about a deliberate rollout, and that means late.
The margins continue to be the problem and will always be the problem. Plain old e-commerce is a difficult business with razor-thin margins.
Unless we hear of some material deviation from the results already shown us -- business conditions are so aligned with expectations that there is no surprise.
Oil could further squeeze operating margins through free- shipping promotions.
The quarterly results showed signs that the eBay platform is aging.
It's refreshing. They have changed the rules for information retrieval, but it's hard to change the rules on Wall Street.
