Amazon is Bluffing, Wants to Stay in NYC: Analyst Prediction
*By Michael Teich*
Amazon's blog post announcing it will pull the plug on its New York City headquarters is nothing but a bluff to bring politicians back to the negotiating table, said D.A. Davidson Analyst Tom Forte.
"Absolutely Amazon's bluffing," Forte told Cheddar Friday.
"What they're trying to do is basically get the support of the governor, support of the mayor. They have a loud local minority that's against Amazon coming to New York. When they announced that they were going with Northern Virginia, Tennessee, and New York City for their second HQ, it was an official press release. When they announced that they're reconsidering New York, it was a blog post."
Forte believes that Amazon put too much time and effort into selecting New York to reverse course now, and that the Big Apple offers too many strategic benefits in the tech giant's favor.
"When you think about New York, it checks a lot of boxes for Amazon as far as why they wanted to have a headquarters here."
"It's the largest population in the U.S., so it should have the largest population of talent for Amazon," he added. "And then there's local advantages unique to New York both in the media business and the advertising business, and those are two very important areas for Amazon as far as future growth of the company, so it's hard for me to believe they're just going to throw in the towel."
Forte has a "Buy" rating and $2,450 price target on Amazon ($AMZN) shares, and continues to be bullish, given the company's ability to generate profits from its highest growing businesses.
"The overlying story for Amazon is we call it Profit Incorporated. Their cloud computing, their advertising, their third-party retail, their fastest-growing businesses are their highest margin businesses, and that's why you're seeing much better than expected earnings per share from Amazon."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/d-a-davidson-calling-amazons-bluff-to-yank-nyc-hq2).
Orangetheory Fitness is redefining the future of workouts with smarter tech, strength-based programming, and community-driven studios built for what’s next.
Spain's government has fined Airbnb 64 million euros or $75 million for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals. The consumer rights ministry announced the fine on Monday. The ministry stated that many listings lacked proper license numbers or included incorrect information. The move is part of Spain's ongoing efforts to regulate short-term rental companies amid a housing affordability crisis especially in popular urban areas. The ministry ordered Airbnb in May to remove around 65,000 listings for similar violations. The government's consumer rights minister emphasized the impact on families struggling with housing. Airbnb said it plans to challenge the fine in court.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
