Nasdaq MSFT MicroSoft

In early trading on Wednesday, shares of Honeywell International topped the list of the day's best performing Dow Jones Industrial Average components, trading up 1.2%. Year to date, Honeywell International Inc has lost about 10.6% of its value.

The U.S. Senate's top Democrat brought American technology leaders - including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai - to Capitol Hill on Wednesday for a closed-door forum on how Congress should set artificial intelligence safeguards.

The Justice Department began questioning a former Google executive about billion-dollar deals with mobile carriers and others that helped keep Google the default search engine, as the second day of a once-in-a-generation antitrust trial got underway on Wednesday.

Professional services firm EY said on Wednesday it has invested $1.4 billion in artificial intelligence and was rolling out a platform offering AI-powered versions of its consulting products to businesses, the latest company to bet big on the technology.

Finding dividend stocks worth holding onto for good isn't an easy task. Investors shouldn't necessarily rely on a company's current dividend yield to make that decision. Recent history has shown that a high yield is only as secure as the business that supports it. Medical Propert

Wall Street closed lower on Tuesday, dragged down by tech stocks. Oil prices hit an almost 10-month high. Investors traded cautiously, keeping a keen eye on Wednesday’s inflation numbers. All three major stock indexes ended in the

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) shares have climbed 40% year to date thanks to the company's growing lead in artificial intelligence (AI). It was an early investor in the industry, allowing it to get a head start on the competition. Companies such as Amazon and Alphabet have expanding A

Microsoft (MSFT) is one of the stocks most watched by Zacks.com visitors lately. So, it might be a good idea to review some of the factors that might affect the near-term performance of the stock.

As the world's first and second most valuable companies by market capitalization, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) are favorites on Wall Street. The tech giants have a long history of delivering consistent growth, with both companies' annual revenue rising by ove

The tech-heavy Nasdaq ETF has gained about 32% this year and 5% in the past three months (as of Sep 11, 2023) but the rally was concentrated. The 'Magnificent Seven' stocks — Apple AAPL, Microsoft MSFT, Nvidia NVDA, Alphabet (GOOG

With the uptrend faltering, we are going to look for some bearish candidates today.

Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, the Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF (QQQM) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 10/13/2020.

The Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) was launched on 12/16/1998, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Technology - Broad segment of the equity market.

The Vanguard Russell 1000 ETF (VONE) was launched on 09/22/2010, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF (GSLC) was launched on 09/17/2015, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

In a blog post earlier this year, Bill Gates wrote: "In my lifetime, I've seen two demonstrations of technology that struck me as revolutionary." The first was the graphical user interface (GUI). Gates ended up making billions of dollars from that technology by adapting it into M

The U.S. Senate's top Democrat is bringing U.S. technology leaders including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai to Capitol Hill on Wednesday for a closed-door forum on how Congress should set artificial intelligence safeguards.

Amazon's stock ( NASDAQ:AMZN ) has rallied by an impressive 66.7% year-to-date. The big question is whether it's a wise move to chase the stock. The current momentum behind the e-commerce and cloud behemoth is undeniably enticing, whether you're considering adding to your existing position or initiating one. However, my optimism wanes when I look at Amazon's current stock price. Despite some positive Q2 highlights, the stock's current valuation is very difficult to justify. As a result, I'm neutral on AMZN stock. Amazon's Retail Business is Growing, but Profits Remain Thin Amazon's retail business has historically held back the company compared to its rapidly growing AWS segment. Nevertheless, growth in retail resumed in Q2, and the company was even able to reverse last year's operating loss into an operating profit. Specifically, the North American Retail division posted net sales of $82.5 billion, implying a year-over-year increase of 10.9%. The division's operating profit also came in at $3.2 billion, greatly improving from last year's operating loss of $627 million. While Amazon's North American Retail division undoubtedly marched in the right direction in Q2, when we step back to examine the broader perspective, the overall outlook appears less enchanting. In fact, the $3.2 billion in operating income still implies an operating margin of just 3.9%. This suggests the following two issues: Firstly, the division's net income (although not directly reported) is even thinner when accounting for the interest expenses (due to debt) related to that segment. Secondly, such a thin margin means that operating income can easily turn negative again during unfavorable trading periods. This includes temporarily weaker consumer demand or inflation pressuring Amazon's expenses. In the meantime, Amazon's International Retail business continues to record losses. The division's sales grew by 9.6% to $29.7 billion. However, its operating loss came in at $895 million. That's a lot of money to lose on an operating level from a business that's supposed to have matured significantly at this point. AWS Growth Decelerates, Profit Margins Shrink Turning to the AWS segment, I believe that Amazon's crown jewel is losing its appeal. For starters, the segment’s growth has been gradually decelerating. Just take a look at AWS' revenue growth rate in recent quarters: Q1-2022: 37% Q2-2022: 33% Q3-2022: 27% Q4-2022: 20% Q1-2023: 16% Q2-2023: 12% The gradual sequential deceleration couldn't be more evident. At its current pace, I wouldn't be surprised if the segment's growth were to slip into the single digits in Q3-2023. So, what's the reason behind this gradual deceleration? The answer is very straightforward -- rising competition. The days when AWS was roaming freely in Cloudland are over. Alphabet’s ( NASDAQ:GOOGL )( NASDAQ:GOOG ) Cloud and Microsoft’s ( NASDAQ:MSFT ) Azure are constantly battling for market share. This is evident in both these companies' cloud segments, whose higher growth rates suggest they are capturing market share faster. Specifically, Alphabet's Google Cloud grew its revenues by 28%, while Microsoft's Azure grew its revenues by 26% during the same period. If that didn't signal bad news already, AWS' operating income declined compared to last year. It landed at $5.4 billion compared to $5.7 billion in the prior-year period. Clearly, this result demonstrated the effect growing competition can have on a company's ability to scale its profitability. Amazon seems to be investing more in AWS to remain competitive, and even then, the segment's growth can't really impress. Has Amazon's Valuation Run Ahead of Itself? In my view, Amazon's valuation may have run ahead of itself following the stock's year-to-date rally. On the one hand, Amazon's total operating income improved in its most recent Q2 results, primarily due to the North American retail division reversing last year's operating losses. On the other hand, I just cannot see how Amazon can make enough money in the coming years to justify its $1.46 trillion market cap. For context, consensus estimates point to Amazon reporting EPS of $2.17 this year. This implies an absurd forward P/E ratio of about 65x. While EPS is expected to grow further to $3.03 in fiscal 2024, again, that implies a very rich P/E of around 46.6. These forward multiples are notably higher than those of the S&P 500 ( SPX ) and most mega-cap stocks. Given the razor-thin margins in the retail segment and the declining profits in AWS, it's very hard to argue that Amazon stock is not overpriced at its current levels. What are Analysts Saying About AMZN? Turning to Wall Street, Amazon continues to boast a Strong Buy consensus rating despite its elevated valuation. This is based on 39 Buys and one Hold assigned in the past three months. At $175.63, the average  Amazon stock price target suggests 24.4% upside potential. If you’re wondering which analyst you should follow if you want to buy and sell AMZN stock, the most profitable analyst covering the stock (on a one-year timeframe) is  Ross Sandler from Barclays, with an average return of 30.47% per rating and a 79% success rate. Click on the image below to learn more. The Takeaway Overall, while Amazon's year-to-date rally may be tempting to chase, caution is warranted. Despite some positive developments in Q2, the stock's current valuation appears stretched and challenging to justify. The Retail segment's thin margins and the deceleration in AWS growth due to increased competition raise concerns about the company's ability to sustain its current valuation. With an exorbitant P/E ratio versus most market benchmarks, it's hard to ignore the possibility that Amazon stock could undergo a valuation compression, shedding away its recent gains. Accordingly, I remain neutral on AMZN stock. Disclosure

California's state Senate on Tuesday approved a bill requiring large companies to report their carbon footprints, sending the bill to Governor Gavin Newsom whose office said he must decide by Oct. 14 whether to sign it and get ahead of the federal government in setting corporate climate rules.

Wall Street stocks ended lower on Tuesday as Oracle shares tumbled more than 13% after a weak forecast and surging oil prices deepened worries about persistent price pressures ahead of crucial inflation readings this week.