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Can Worker Strike Mar Amazon's (AMZN) Prime Day Prospects?

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Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) workers in the U.K. are planning to go on a strike during its two-day mega-shopping event — Prime Day, beginning on Jul 11, to mar the company’s prospects.

Reportedly, the GMB union has organized a three-day strike with 900 workers at a warehouse in Britain, starting from Jul 11 and will be carried till Jul 13.

More precisely, workers at Coventry warehouse will strike for two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening for these three days to protest against poor pay.

Amazon.com, Inc. Price and Consensus

 

Amazon.com, Inc. Price and Consensus

Amazon.com, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Amazon.com, Inc. Quote

Disruption at Amazon

The workers’ strike during the Prime Day event is a huge concern for Amazon.

Warehouses aid the company in storing and shipping products and handling returns quickly. These are crucial for Amazon, as they help provide a better shopping experience to its customers. Also, the company’s robust delivery network helps in the ultrafast delivery of orders.

Thus, the latest move by the workers is likely to disrupt the company’s capacity to cater to the rising customer demand on Prime Days.

Consequently, this might negatively impact the company’s Prime Day sales and make investors apprehensive about the stock.

Notably, GMB has also mentioned that this protest will end only when the per-hour wages are increased to 15 pounds or $19.25.

Coventry warehouse workers also went on strike from Jun 12 to Jun 14 and they were in favor of six more months of strikes.

Amazon’s Stance

However, Amazon has reportedly mentioned its minimum starting pay, which ranges in the band of 11-12 pounds per hour depending on the location.

The company also mentioned that the underlined strike will not cause any disruption to customers as the Coventry site is not associated with the direct distribution of customer orders.

Additionally, Amazon’s robust fulfillment network in the United Kingdom is capable of negating the impact of the likely strike.

Moreover, its strong strategies, which are primarily focused on providing an enhanced shopping experience with the help of its robust product offerings, deep discounts on various items, Prime program, expanding freight and fast delivery services, remain positives.

Further, Amazon’s automation drive-through robots in its fulfillment centers are on a high and remain major positives.

The abovementioned facts are likely to aid the company’s Prime Day sales growth and help the stock retain its momentum among investors.

Notably, Amazon has gained 54.5% on a year-to-date basis.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Currently, Amazon carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the retail-wholesale sector are BJ’s Restaurants (BJRI - Free Report) , 1stdibs.com (DIBS - Free Report) and Arcos Dorados (ARCO - Free Report) . BJ’s Restaurants sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), and 1stdibs.com and Arcos Dorados carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

BJ’s Restaurants has gained 22.9% on a year-to-date basis. The long-term earnings growth rate for BJRI is currently projected at 15%.

1stdibs.com has lost 24.4% on a year-to-date basis. The long-term earnings growth rate for DIBS is currently projected at 5.66%.

Arcos Dorados has gained 22.5% on a year-to-date basis. The long-term earnings growth rate for ARCO is currently projected at 9.49%.

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