Amazon’s Prime Day Not the Market Mover it Once Was

The annual Prime Day event from Amazon.com (AMZN) does not move the market as it once did, as investors focus more on the company’s cloud computing business for signs of growth. In the past four years, Amazon has fallen in the week of the two-day Prime Day sale, when the company discounts many items to bolster sales.  Before that, the first four years of the Prime Day event that began in 2015 saw Amazon shares climb more than +2% the week of the event.

Market attention in recent years for Amazon.com has shifted to its cloud computing business, Amazon Web Services (AWS), which has become the company’s primary source of operating income.  Growth in AWS has accelerated as the business stands to benefit the most from the rollout of artificial intelligence applications.  On Sunday, CICC initiated coverage on Amazon.com with a recommendation of outperform and a price target of $140.