Amazon.com Inc. will have to continue to grow business segments outside of its core retail and cloud offerings to drive future gains, according to GIobalData. Amazon AMZN, +0.42% reported results that blew past expectations late Thursday, sending shares rocketing 13.5% in Friday trading, breakinga one-day market value gain record. Amazon can credit a variety of sources for the better-than-expected showing. Its investment in Rivian Automotive Inc. RIVN, -1.82% lent a hand. Amazon announced it was breaking out its advertising business, which reached more than $31 billion in 2021. And the list of companies partnering with AWS continues to grow, with Best Buy Co. Inc. BBY announced this week. Read: Amazon holiday earnings blow away expectations (thanks to Rivian), stock spikes Going forward, the cost of Prime membership is going up on both a monthly and annual basis. \"Contrary to popular opinion, Amazon is not a monopoly that can continually vacuum up market share by virtue of its existence,\" wrote Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData, in a note. More: Amazon increases Prime subscription price in US. as membership tops 200 million "Like any retailer, it can only secure growth through evolution and innovation. What's now clear is that Amazon must work much harder to generate future gains, especially as competitors are making much more effort with their omnichannel and digital services. This is one of the reasons why Amazon is starting to pull on some alternative growth levers." 'Contrary to popular opinion, Amazon is not a monopoly that can continually vacuum up market share by virtue of its existence.' Neil Saunders, managing director, GlobalData Saunders also called out Amazon's growing eet of brick-and-mortar stores. "As consumers resumed in-person shopping over the holiday of 2021, that Amazon managed to make even marginal gains is impressive. Nevertheless, it lost market share especially to physical retailers and to those offering omnichannel services such as collect from store,\" GlobalData said. Still, D.A. Davidson analysts say Amazon can expect the government to keep a watchful eye on its operations. "We continue to monitor Amazon in light of increased watchdog and regulatory interest surrounding antitrust regulation," wrote D.A. Davidson's Tom Forte. "In this vein, we were interested in the company's disclosure that 56% of unit sales were by third-party (3P) sellers, compared with 55% last year. We expect that number to continue to increase over time, partly due to the increased government scrutiny." D.A. Davidson rates Amazon stock a buy with a $3,900 price target. Want intel on all the news moving markets before the day starts? Sign up for our daily Need to Know newsletter. SIGN UP FOR NEED TO KNOW Research analysts were largely upbeat about the fourth-quarter showing, which came even as the company was pressured by labor, inflation, supply chain and other costs. 'Although the macro issues may muddy the near-term, we continue to see Amazon as a long-term secular grower underpinned by its strong e-commerce, cloud, and advertising businesses," wrote Susquehanna Financial Group in a note. Susquehanna rates Amazon stock as positive with a $5,000 price target, one of the highest price targets tracked by FactSet.KeyBanc Capital Markets has an overweight rating on Amazon stock with a $4,000 price target. \"We think that 'normalized' growth will allow Amazon to better focus on becoming more efcient and innovative,\" analysts said. "That's not to say that Amazon's innovation focus suffered, per se, but that the focus on running 'at out' during COVID likely disrupted the normal cadence of improvement within Amazon.\" Amazon can still depend on its base businesses to drive growth. \"The pandemic has sparked online adoption of grocery and consumables, categories Amazon has struggled to penetrate for many years and should support the next leg of retail growth,\" Stifel wrote. "As the leader in two large and rapidly growing sectors (e-commerce & cloud), with an emerging high margin marketing business, Amazon remains well positioned in a recovery scenario given cloud services, marketing services and certain e-commerce categories/geographies are still in the early phases of development.\" Stifel rates Amazon stock a buy with a $4,400 price target. Amazon stock is down 6% for the past year while the S&P 500 index SPX, +1.19% has gained 15.8%. In a blog post Wednesday, Amazon VP of Public Policy Brian Huseman alleged that a bill led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar in the Senate and Rep. David Cicilline in the House excludes competitors such as Walmart (W_MT), Costco and Target using a $550 billion market-cap threshold. Huseman also said Amazon customers could face longer shipping times if the company is forced by the bill to let rival shipping providers fulfill orders under Amazon Prime, which offers fast shipping options. The proposed legislation, known as the American Innovation and Choice Online Act {AICOA}, is intended to limit conflicts of interest that may be created when a tech platform owns more than one type of business. It also covers a number of Big Tech companies, including Apple (AAPL), Facebook (F_B), Google (GOOGL) and Microsoft {MSFT}. In Amazon's case, critics have previously complained that the company harms competition by selling its own products on the same digital marketplace as third-party RELATED ARTICLE Amazon may face criminal liability for lying to Congress sellers, as well as requiring third-party sellers to abide by platform terms that appear to HOUSE lawmakers allege favor Amazon's logistics services. Advertisement [3 Ad Feedback \"Were this legislation to become law, it would substantially degrade the value and quality of Prime, as many of the products sold in our store today with Prime's one- to two-day delivery promise would be undeliverable in that time frame," Huseman wrote. \"This degradation of the Prime experience would materially hurt not just Amazon (which is what we believe to be the real, unstated goal of the legislation), but, more importantly, every American consumer and small business that currently relies on the Prime service.\" Of the major tech regulation bills being considered in Congress, AICOA appears closest to becoming law, though it still faces a long road. Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer reportedly intends to bring the legislation to a vote this summer, which could set up a subsequent House vote. But if it drags into the fall, the midterm elections risk derailing the process. \"As one of the nation's largest retailers, we understand our success invites scrutiny,\" Huseman wrote in the blog post. \"We also understand that such scrutiny can bring calls for new regulations. If Congress believes that the highly competitive retail industry needs regulation, we welcome the opportunity to engage in identifying and addressing legitimate concerns lawmakers may have. But the proposed bills that Congress is now considering, which attempt to broadly cover five companies, each with a vastly different business model, should be reconsidered." In response to Amazon's blog post, a spokesperson for Klobuchar said the company was misrepresenting the bill's effects and that it would help the very small businesses Amazon claimed to represent, as well as smaller tech companies, hotels and the 35,000 businesses represented by the National Association of Wholesale Distributors. Those and other small business groups have endorsed the bill, along with the departments of Commerce and Justice. \"Who do you trust? The largest online retailer in America with a demonstrated record of stiffing small businesses and lying about this bill's impact, or small businesses themselves?" the spokesperson said. \"We'll take the side of small business and consumers not the side of big tech monopolists.\" : . , . Resources The Bible Online Educational Resources Website: IWU Online Campus Library Services Article: 'Amazon is not a monopoly': Earnings show Amazon must rely on alternative businesses, analyst says Article: Amazon sharply criticizes looming antitrust bill in Congress . Instructions 1. Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade. 2. Review the following short articles: a. 'Amazon is not a monopoly': Earnings show Amazon must rely on alternative businesses, analyst says b. Amazon sharply criticizes looming antitrust bill in Congress . Complete the assignment by answering the questions that are asked. a. In your opinion, does Amazon possess the typical qualities of a monopoly? b. Do you believe it is unethical, and perhaps even illegal, to use Amazon Prime as a means of "entangling" consumers into Amazon products. c. Does Amazon have any viable \"online competitors" in the retail space? cl. Are there any other sectors of the economy besides retailing that Amazon is eyeing for similar levels of "market power?" . Depending upon the nature of the question and what is required, your solution will need to be put into a Word document. Make sure you use recent and credible sources for your information. Make your case in a 3-page paper consistent with the rubric measures of success. . When you have completed your assignment, save a copy for yourself and submit a copy to your instructor using the Article Assignment submission page by the end of the workshop. Amazon.com Inc. will have to continue to grow business segments outside of its core retail and cloud offerings to drive future gains, according to GlobalData. Amazon AMZN, +0.42% reported results that blew past expectations late Thursday, sending shares rocketing 13.5% in Fridaytrading, breakinga one-day market value gain record. Amazon can credit a variety of sources for the better-than-expected showing. Its investment in Rivian Automotive Inc. RIVN, -1.82% lent a hand. Amazon announced it was breaking out its advertising business, which reached more than $31 billion in 2021. And the list of companies partnering with AWS continues to grow, with Best Buy Co. Inc. BBY announced this week. Read: Amazon holiday earnings blow away expectations (thanks to Rivian), stock spikes Going forward, the cost of Prime membership is going up on both a monthly and annual basis. "Contrary to popular opinion, Amazon is not a monopoly that can continually vacuum up market share by virtue of its existence,\" wrote Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData, in a note. More: Amazon increases Prime subscription price in US. as membership tops 200 million "Like any retailer, it can only secure growth through evolution and innovation. What's now clear is that Amazon must work much harder to generate future gains, especially as competitors are making much more effort with their omnichannel and digital services. This is one of the reasons why Amazon is starting to pull on some alternative growth levers." 'Contrary to popular opinion, Amazon is not a monopoly that can continually vacuum up market share by virtue of its existence.' Neil Saunders, managing directon GlobalData Saunders also called out Amazon's growing eet of brick-and-mortar stores. "As consumers resumed in-person shopping over the holiday of 2021, that Amazon managed to make even marginal gains is impressive. Nevertheless, it lost market share especially to physical retailers and to those offering omnichannel services such as collect from store," GlobalData said. Still, D.A. Davidson analysts say Amazon can expect the government to keep a watchful eye on its ope rations. "We continue to monitor Amazon in light of increased watchdog and regulatory interest surrounding antitrust regulation," wrote D.A. Davidson's Tom Forte. "In this vein, we were interested in the company's disclosure that 56% of unit sales were by third-party (3P) sellers, compared with 55% last year. We expect that number to continue to increase over time, partly due to the increased government scrutiny." D.A. Davidson rates Amazon stock a buy with a $3,900 price target. Want intel on all the news moving markets before the day starts? Sign up for our daily Need to Know newsletter. SIGN UP FOR NEED TO KNOW Research analysts were largely upbeat about the fourth-quarter showing, which came even as the company was pressured by labor, inflation, supply chain and other costs. 'Although the macro issues may muddy the near-term, we continue to see Amazon as a long-term secular grower underpinned by its strong e-commerce, cloud, and advertising businesses," wrote Susquehanna Financial Group in a note. Susquehanna rates Amazon stock as positive with a $5,000 price target, one of the highest price targets tracked by FactSet.KeyBanc Capital Markets has an overweight rating on Amazon stock with a $4,000 price target. \"We think that 'normalized' growth will allow Amazon to better focus on becoming more efcient and innovative,\" analysts said. "That's not to say that Amazon's innovation focus suffered, per se, but that the focus on running 'at out' during COVID likely disrupted the normal cadence of improvement within Amazon.\" Amazon can still depend on its base businesses to drive growth. \"The pandemic has sparked online adoption of grocery and consumables, categories Amazon has struggled to penetrate for many years and should support the next leg of retail growth,\" Stifel wrote. "As the leader in two large and rapidly growing sectors (e-commerce & cloud), with an emerging high margin marketing business, Amazon remains well positioned in a recovery scenario given cloud services, marketing services and certain e-commerce categories/geographies are still in the early phases of development.\" Stifel rates Amazon stock a buy with a $4,400 price target. Amazon stock is down 6% for the past year while the S&P 500 index SPX, +1.19% has gained 15.8%. In a blog post Wednesday, Amazon VP of Public Policy Brian Huseman alleged that a bill led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar in the Senate and Rep. David Cicilline in the House excludes competitors such as Walmart (VIIMT), Costco and Target using a $550 billion market-cap threshold. Huseman also said Amazon customers could face longer shipping times if the company is forced by the bill to let rival shipping providers fulfill orders under Amazon Prime, which offers fast shipping options. The proposed legislation, Known as the American Innovation and Choice Online Act {AICOA}, is intended to limit conflicts of interest that may be created when a tech platform owns more than one type of business. It also covers a number of Big Tech companies, including Apple (AAPL), FacebooK (F_B), Google (GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT). In Amazon's case, critics have previously complained that the company harms RELATED ARTICLE Amazon may face criminal competition by selling its own products on the same digital marketplace as third-party liability for lying to COHgI'ESS. sellers, as well as requiring third-party sellers to abide by platform terms that appear to HOUSE lawmakers allege favor Amazon's logistics services. Advertisement [3 Ad Feedback \"Were this legislation to become law, it would substantially degrade the value and quality of Prime, as many of the products sold in our store today with Prime's one- to two-day delivery promise would be undeliverable in that time frame," Huseman wrote. \"This degradation of the Prime experience would materially hurt not just Amazon (which is what we believe to be the real, unstated goal of the legislation), but, more importantly, every American consumer and small business that currently relies on the Prime service.\" Of the major tech regulation bills being considered in Congress, AICOA appears closest to becoming law, though it still faces a long road. Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer reportedly intends to bring the legislation to a vote this summer, which could set up a subsequent House vote. But if it drags into the fall, the midterm elections risk derailing the process. \"As one of the nation's largest retailers, we understand our success invites scrutiny,\" Huseman wrote in the blog post. \"We also understand that such scrutiny can bring calls for new regulations. If Congress believes that the highly competitive retail industry needs regulation, we welcome the opportunity to engage in identifying and addressing legitimate concerns lawmakers may have. But the proposed bills that Congress is now considering, which attempt to broadly cover five companies, each with a vastly different business model, should be reconsidered." In response to Amazon's blog post, a spokesperson for Klobuchar said the company was misrepresenting the bill's effects and that it would help the very small businesses Amazon claimed to represent, as well as smaller tech companies, hotels and the 35,000 businesses represented by the National Association of Wholesale Distributors. Those and other small business groups have endorsed the bill, along with the departments of Commerce and Justice. \"Who do you trust? The largest online retailer in America with a demonstrated record of stiffing small businesses and lying about this bill's impact, or small businesses themselves?" the spokesperson said. \"We'll take the side of small business and consumers not the side of big tech monopolists.\" : . ' . Resources The Bible Online Educational Resources Website: IWU Online Campus Library Services Article: 'Amazon is not a monopoly': Earnings show Amazon must rely on alternative businesses, analyst says Article: Amazon sharply criticizes looming antitrust bill in Congress . Instructions 1. Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade. 2. Review the following short articles: a. 'Amazon is not a monopoly': Earnings show Amazon must rely on alternative businesses, analyst says b. Amazon sharply criticizes looming antitrust bill in Congress . Complete the assignment by answering the questions that are asked. a. In your opinion, does Amazon possess the typical qualities of a monopoly? b. Do you believe it is unethical, and perhaps even illegal, to use Amazon Prime as a means of "entangling" consumers into Amazon products. c. Does Amazon have any Viable \"online competitors" in the retail space? d. Are there any other sectors of the economy besides retailing that Amazon is eyeing for similar levels of "market power?" . Depending upon the nature of the question and what is required, your solution will need to be put into a Word document. Make sure you use recent and credible sources for your information. Make your case in a 3-page paper consistent with the rubric measures of success. . When you have completed your assignment, save a copy for yourself and submit a copy to your instructor using the Article Assignment submission page by the end of the workshop