Amazon.com Inc.AMZN recently announced its plans to increase the minimum wage for U.S. workers to $15 an hour, effective next month.
The move will benefit employees with higher wages, right before the holiday season. Encouragingly, the raised wages will also benefit employees that are usually hired during the holiday season.
Amazon stated that the wage hike should benefit more than 350,000 employees across full-time, part-time and seasonal positions.
Impact of Wage hike
Amazon has been criticized since long for its treatment of hourly employees, especially in its fulfillment centers. The company has been facing strikes by employees, demanding higher pay.
Therefore, a wage hike should definitely give a morale boost to employees, as it heads toward the busy holiday shopping season. The move will keep the workers satisfied and also help improve customer service, thereby encouraging shoppers to spend more.
On the other hand, the wage hike could increase the expense burden on the retailer, impacting its bottom-line growth. However, with increasing focus on automating its activities in almost all fields, including fulfillment centers, the company could somewhat spend less on wages by hiring only a few people.
Investment in Workforce
Labor market conditions in the United States have been steadily improving, with declining unemployment rates and frequent wage hikes by firms across different industries.
The current wage hike by Amazon is expected to force other companies like Alphabet GOOGL ,Target Corporation TGT , Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. WMT , among others, to raise their minimum pay in order to remain competitive, especially during the ongoing holiday season hiring.
The increase in minimum wages will help the company to retain efficient employees and attract more workers, as the company progresses with its expansion initiatives. Moreover, Amazon has always remained committed toward investing in its workforce. In addition to a healthy pay, the company provides a number of other healthcare and full-time benefits such as offering programs like Career Choice to help employees pursue courses related to fields that are in demand.
Share Price Performance
Amazon is one of the largest online retailers in the world, with extensive operations in North America. Although Amazon's primary product line was of books, it has diversified into a host of other product categories and now wants to have a global presence.
The company's share price was $71.68 as of Oct 2, 2018, up 0.6% from a year ago. Shares of Amazon have steadily trended upward on a year-to-date basis. The stock has returned 68.6% compared with the industry 's growth of 31.7% during the said period.
The outperformance can be attributed to the company's growing retail business, solid loyalty system in Prime, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Internet of Things (IoT).
Amazon.com, Inc. Price and Consensus
Amazon.com, Inc. Price and Consensus | Amazon.com, Inc. Quote
Zacks Rank
Currently, Amazon carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here .
Best Electric Car Stock? You'll Never Guess It.
Zacks Research has released a report that may shock many investors. One stock stands out as the best way to invest in the surge to electric cars. And it's not the one you may think!
Much like petroleum 150 years ago, lithium battery power is set to shake the world, creating millionaires and reshaping geo-politics. Soon electric vehicles (EVs) may be cheaper than gas guzzlers. Some are already reaching 265 miles on a single charge. With battery prices plummeting and charging stations set to multiply, revenues that were already at $31 billion in 2016 are expected to blast to over $67 billion by the end of 2022.
See Zacks Best EV Stock Free >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis Report
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report
Walmart Inc. (WMT): Free Stock Analysis Report
Target Corporation (TGT): Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.