Market was in such a dour mood before the earnings that even an okay-ish quarter and guidance drove the stock +15% AH.
For the first time, international sales declined in any quarter YoY 😯
I know, I know tough comp. Here's my notes.
2/12 First, here's the breakdown of sales and operating income by NA, international, and AWS. Also, a breakdown by segment. For the first time, advertising revenue was disclosed.
3/12 2020 was extraordinary for $AMZN, so 2-yr/3-yr CAGR is more reflective of underlying health.
Q4: AMZN 2-yr CAGR is still at ~25%. AWS is accelerating growth. Ads 2-yr CAGR ~47%. Hard to complain.
AWS incremental operating margin mid-30s. But a wild swing for AMZN, ex-AWS.
4/12 Gain from Rivian investment was $11.8 Bn which inflated EPS numbers, but obviously one-off.
Prime price increases from $119 to $139.
"we think it's a much more valuable program today than it was in 2020, let alone 2018."
5/12 A little more than $4 Bn costs from inflationary pressure and productivity losses. Negative $1 Bn impact from fixed cost leverage in fulfilment.
"for most of 2020 and the first half of 2021 fulfillment network was running at close to 100% capacity"
6/12 AWS' run-rate now $71 Bn and growth is accelerating!
$1 Bn EBIT tailwind for AWS because of changes in useful life. While it seems to be lower quality earnings, AMZN thinks they had to work hard to to achieve it. It wasn't just an arbitrary change.
7/12 "AWS has 84 availability zones in 26 regions around the world right now. And just in terms of the forward-looking road map, we have announced to launch 24 more zones in 8 more regions, and those will be here in the next couple of years."
8/12 Ads was +33% in 4Q'21 (+66% in 4Q'20, but it had Prime Day in there)
"the sponsored products and brands, they make up the majority of ad revenue today"
3P units was 56%
9/12 Capex: ~40% is infrastructure (mostly AWS, so expect infra capex to continue)
~30% fulfillment capacity (mostly warehouses, capex will moderate here and likely to grow at tandem with biz)
10/12 Outlook: 1Q'22 topline growth +3-8%. Expect tough comp to persist till 1H'22 and it gets easier in the latter half of the year.
11/12 Valuation: I was doing some quick sanity check on valuation. If you assume ~15x EV/EBIT terminal multiple, this is what you need to *believe* to generate 10% IRR.
NOT my forecast. The # of people who can forecast AMZN in 2030 is likely zero.
"Market environment remains weak, with shipments below 2019 levels."
growth opportunities in industrial and automotive
Four revenue scenarios for 2026, with floor being $20 Bn. FYI, $TXN consensus estimates for '26 revenue is $20 Bn.
"I would be extremely disappointed if it ends up at $20 billion. That's not my expectation. That's not the signature I see as we compete for market share today."
I received a couple of DMs asking about "hey, what's going on in Bangladesh"
While I left Bangladesh in 2017, my almost entire family still lives there. So I'm keenly aware of what's going on. I'll briefly cover what happened and the implications.
let's start with the end result. The Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina or SH (who's the Head of State in Bangladesh) fled the country after facing intense protest from Bangladeshi students. Her exact location doesn't seem to be confirmed yet (rumored to be India or EU).
Let's back up a little and give some brief historical context.
SH came to power in 2008. Her father- Mujib was the architect in mobilizing people in Bangladesh to gain independence from Pakistan in 1971. Following independence, Mujib became the first PM of Bangladesh.
closed my $AMZN Jan 2025 $160 calls that I wrote. 43% gain in this trade, but feels like just another lucky trade as I now think AMZN is undervalued (and I was likely too cautious to hedge it at $160 back then). Kept the $55 calls unhedged now.
CSU's organic growth for recurring revenue will probably more or less mimic $BRO's organic growth. But CSU has ~20% ROIC vs BRO's ~10% but they trade at *almost* similar multiple. So I decided to buyback what I trimmed.
Going through insurance brokers earnings now. $AON and $MMC finally growing in tandem after AON lagged MMC consistently since 2Q'21.
$BRO is the clear winner in organic growth for this quarter. (disc: long $BRO and $AON)
Looking closer between MMC and AON.
will add to this thread later as I go through the transcript.
In the meantime, here's my Deep Dive on $BRO (also explains why I love this industry and would like to own probably most of these companies over time at "right" valuation):
After sequential revenue decline in China for 7 consecutive quarters, this quarter experienced ~15-20% growth across all segments in China. Europe and Japan are also in early phase of the upcycle.
More commentary on China:
"the market is more competitive in China, but we can compete and we can win business in very attractive margins"
expect incremental margin to be ~75-85% (ex depreciation)
"Inventory is being built at the right part, where we have this diversity and longevity positions such that we don't risk the scrap of the inventory."