Amazon.com, Inc. has a swollen cash pile to deal with; AMZN stock meanwhile potential over-extended

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Category: Share Price Drivers

Published on Monday, 28 January 2013 10:23

Written by Rob Samson

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has the pleasure of deciding what to do with a swollen cash pile which has been bloated thanks to record christmas trade.

A report in today's Guardian suggests AMZN could be sitting on a $9bn (£5.7bn) lump of cash.

Amazon.com is expected to declare on Tuesday in results that will inflame the debate over its tax contributions around the world.

In just 13 weeks, Amazon's savings, which are held in cash and investments, have ballooned to between $7bn and $9bn, from $5.2bn in September, say analysts.

The group's performance helped topple a number of its UK high street competitors, with the camera shop Jessops and music store HMV going into administration earlier this month.

According to the Guardian report, the UK generates an estimated 10% of Amazon's revenues, pushing the proportion of the cash pile collected in the British Isles to an estimated $900m.  

Are Amazon shares overbought?

Turning to the AMZN share price we note that there technical indicators suggesting that the stock is overbought.

The RSI indicator - which tells us whether a product is overbought - is in focus: "The RSI is above 70. It could mean either that the stock is in a lasting uptrend or just overbought and therefore bound to correct (look for bearish divergence in this case)," says a technical note on Amazon.com issued by Trading Central.

Is the high-street decline AMZN's fault or is this the UK's lost decade?

Angus Cambpell, in a morning market comment reflects on just how afflicted the UK consumer is.

The comment is an interesting one in light of the above mention of the decline of the likes of HMV, Jessops and Comet:

"All this bullishness (on the markets) comes at a time when headlines still make for tough reading.  

"It’s reports of the never ending consumer squeeze this morning that many people going to work are being presented with on some of the front pages and something that is expected to last for a number of years ahead.  

"The UK is suffering from a Japanese style lost decade in terms of consumer spending and you only have to see the recent casualties of the high street to understand that we are simply not reaching for the plastic anymore and continuing to pay off debts rather than splashing out on something new and exciting.  

"When we are spending most of us are trading down and finding new ways to save money which is playing into the hands of the sort of supermarkets that would normally not be considered an option by many people.  

"Inflation remains above par and wage inflation isn’t keeping up as the pressure on disposable income continues."