E-commerce

Amazon gets ever more like a regular ol’ retailer

27 Apr 2023

The $1.1 trln e-commerce giant grew sales of goods faster than expected. Yet its star, AWS, is under pressure. Boss Andy Jassy is focusing increasingly on profitability. It's a familiar cycle for big retailers – but not previously for Amazon.

E-commerce can be open sesame to Alibaba’s worth

6 Apr 2023

Boss Daniel Zhang plans to spin off faster-growing, money-losing bets like its cloud and logistics units. Valuing them is more art than science. He’ll get more bang for his breakup bucks by convincing investors that the main shopping business of the $260 bln group can still grow.

JD takes China tech spinoffs to awkward new level

31 Mar 2023

The $65 bln e-retailer will float two more units, bringing its listed businesses to five. The IPOs follow rival Alibaba’s planned breakup, a sign that Chinese giants are serious about unlocking value. It’s not clear, though, that the earlier JD deals have benefitted shareholders.

Google giggles at China tech’s shrinking act

31 Mar 2023

Investors like Alibaba’s plan to split six ways, hoping peers like Tencent follow. Yet Chinese online giants are already dwarfed by US colossi like $1.3 trln Alphabet. Smaller firms might be nimbler, but they’ll have less R&D funds and M&A firepower to take on the Americans.

Alibaba breakup sends positive vibes to investors

30 Mar 2023

The $265 bln Chinese tech giant is splitting into six pieces. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss how the move could be replicated by peers like Tencent and how Beijing’s business charm offensive is sending the right signals to China watchers.

Alibaba drafts breakup blueprint for China tech

28 Mar 2023

The $228 bln e-commerce group is splitting into six units spanning logistics to games, which may be listed. That should unlock value for weary shareholders, and please regulators keen to control strategic businesses. If done right, pressure for Tencent to follow may rise.

Jack Ma is Beijing’s prodigal entrepreneur

28 Mar 2023

The Alibaba founder is back in China, prompting an ephemeral Alibaba stock rally. His rehabilitation appears part of an official campaign to revive business confidence, and has a whiff of desperation. It highlights Beijing's love-hate relationship with the private sector.

GoTo is back to facing less existential problems

21 Mar 2023

The $8 bln Indonesian superapp may not need to raise capital in a hurry. It expects to reduce its cash burn by up to 65% this year. Cost cuts are paying off but hard questions on future growth and competition with its financially stronger Singaporean rival Grab remain.

Capital Calls: SVB found old concentration risk

10 Mar 2023

Concise views on global finance: The busted bank counted half of all U.S. venture capital-backed startups as clients. As with financiers to oil barons in the 1980s, monomaniacal focus on a booming industry is a way to court disaster.

Capital Calls: L&G/UK insurers

8 Mar 2023

Concise views on global finance: The $19 bln group led by Nigel Wilson is expanding rapidly overseas, which should help its depressed valuation.

Amazon expansion collides with contraction

6 Mar 2023

Cities from Newark to Dallas bent over backwards to court the e-commerce giant five years ago. Now it is hitting the pause button on HQ2. The fate of a Virginia compound depends on labor market and work-from-home trends. Even $1 trillion companies are without a crystal ball.

Fintech darling Stripe has first-world problems

2 Mar 2023

The payment startup is raising new cash at a valuation roughly half its previous worth of $95 billion. A solid business model and rapid growth allowed Stripe to stay private. But slowing revenue and the need to retain employees have forced it to acknowledge financial gravity.

Walmart’s ho-hum is the new fabulous

21 Feb 2023

The $390 bln retailing giant said its next fiscal year isn’t going to be great. Low growth and slim margins would typically be concerning. But it turns a profit, which can’t be said for Amazon’s retail business. Plus, Walmart doesn’t have tech stink attached to its name.

Capital Calls: Shein’s ambition looks a stretch

20 Feb 2023

Concise views on global finance: The privately held Chinese fast-fashion clothing company is trying to entice investors with projections it can double revenue in three years.

Amazon and Walmart: different start, same ending

2 Feb 2023

Both retailing giants’ shares posted nearly identical returns over the past five years. Walmart might be better positioned than Amazon, whose retail business posted a loss for 2022. But both firms have underperformed the market and smaller peers.

Global supply chain scars will spark sea change

31 Jan 2023

The business of shifting goods around the world plunged into chaos during the pandemic. In this Exchange podcast Alan Murphy, boss of researcher Sea-Intelligence, explains China’s changing role in global trade and how that impacts the price of everything from iPhones to cars.

Capital Calls: Activism, Bond spat, Airline M&A

18 Jan 2023

Concise views on global finance: Aggressive shareholder campaigns picked up in 2022, but activism is becoming an overcrowded strategy. Meanwhile, M&A machine Melrose takes on a fight that might not be worth winning, and German airline Lufthansa eyes a stake in Italy’s ITA.

Jack Ma’s Ant is China tech’s tiniest bellwether

9 Jan 2023

The founder is ceding control of his fintech giant, sending shares of affiliate Alibaba up 7%. The move was expected, yet investors clearly see Ant's rehabilitation as symbolic. That may be misguided, but any excuse to reevaluate China’s beat-down internet sector will do.

E-commerce will go viral on social media in 2023

27 Dec 2022

TikTok and YouTube are among those fighting for a piece of the estimated $46 bln shopping market that’s growing twice as fast as ads. It’s a sensible strategic move, but recession would dash some plans. Many products also won’t suit the apps and competition is expanding quickly.

New buy-now-pay-later fad runs old-school risks

8 Dec 2022

After Klarna and others saw their valuations slashed, venture investors are now pouring money into business-focused lenders like Wayflyer. It sounds like digital trade finance, which has a patchy past. There’s often a good reason that small borrowers can’t get money elsewhere.