Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock had risen 0.66% at the top of the noon hour on January 18. Shares have climbed 11.4% in 2018 already after a monster 2017. Amazon also announced the 20 finalists for its second headquarters.
Some of the finalists include Boston, Dallas, Miami, New York, Pittsburgh, and the lone Canadian finalist; Toronto. There were more than 238 applications for the headquarters. Cities have been jumping at the chance to attract the potential 50,000 high-paying jobs that the company has promised the headquarters will provide. Amazon expects to make its final decision in 2018.
Amazon released its third quarter results on October 26. Net sales jumped 34% to $43.7 billion and net income climbed to $256 million or $0.52 per diluted share in comparison to $252 million in the prior year. The company is set to release its fourth quarter and full 2017 year results within the next month.
U.S. retail holiday sales rose 4.9% in 2017, the highest such increase since 2011. Online shopping sales reached $108.2 billion which represented a 14.7% increase year over year. Black Friday and Cyber Monday saw shoppers spend $7 billion on mobile devices and for the full year mobile sales rose 28% to $35.9 billion.
This is all good news for Amazon ahead of its fourth quarter earnings release. Still, the stock comes at a big price tag with a P/E ratio of 328 and no dividend payout. However, its top shelf leadership and incredible growth trajectory are likely to produce another green year in 2018.
