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Amazon (AMZN) to Add Jobs, Expand Presence in South Africa

Zacks Equity Research
·3-min read

Job creation doesn’t come as a surprise from an industry leader like Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN.

The retail giant, which is one of the world’s fastest growing companies with fingers in almost every pie, recently announced plans of hiring new positions in South Africa this year.

The company will add 3,000 permanent and seasonal jobs in South Africa to support customers in North America and Europe. The work-from-home roles will range from customer service associates to technical experts, among others. The objective of this move is to provide 24-hour support to customers.

The latest move aligns with Amazon’s motto of expanding on an international basis. In addition, the new jobs are aimed at providing better services to customers, thereby accommodating rapid growth, and leveraging the area’s diverse high-technology talent pool.

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In addition, Amazon is trying to help combat unemployment in the country amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Amazon.com, Inc. Price and Consensus

 

Amazon.com, Inc. Price and Consensus
Amazon.com, Inc. Price and Consensus

Amazon.com, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Amazon.com, Inc. Quote

Growth Expansion Continues

Amazon has been operating in the country since 2004. The company has been adding employees to South Africa workforce over the past few years. The new additions will bring the country’s total workforce to 7,000.

Though the company’s customer service unit has been operating in the country since 2010, it does not offer any e-commerce assistance there.

However, recently, the company’s cloud computing platform — Amazon Web Services (AWS) — announced the launch of its first data centre operations in Cape Town to meet the increasing demand for cloud services due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The latest announcement is a testament to the company’s efforts to expand presence in the country.

Amazon’s shares have gained 38.4%, outperforming the 32.6% rally of the industry it belongs to on a 12-month basis.

We believe investors are encouraged by its international expansion, grocery initiatives and efforts toward Amazon Web Services. The company capitalizes on execution strength, robust performance and technological prowess.

Bottom Line

Amazon has been expanding on a global basis in a bid to maintain supremacy. The company is investing more in fulfillment, technology and content. Its focus on automating distribution centers is clearly heating up and investment in robotics should continue to pay off.

The latest step to recruit more personnel in South Africa clearly demonstrates that Amazon is focused on expanding operations in the country and delivering enhanced services to more customers. Consequently, the company is likely to achieve growth targets going forward.

Although increased expenses could hurt the bottom line in the near term, we believe that these measures are necessary to maintain its dominance in this highly competitive market.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Currently, Amazon carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector include Wayfair Inc. W, eBay EBAY and Inphi Corporation IPHI. While Wayfair and eBay sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Inphi carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Long-term earnings growth for Wayfair, eBay, and Inphi is currently projected at 23%, 12.4% and 37.7%, respectively.

5 Stocks to Soar Past the Pandemic:In addition to the companies you learned about above, we invite you to learn about 5 cutting-edge stocks that could skyrocket from the exponential increase in demand for “stay at home” technologies. This could be one of the biggest buying opportunities of the decade.

See the 5 high-tech stocks now>


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Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
eBay Inc. (EBAY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Wayfair Inc. (W) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Inphi Corporation (IPHI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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