Amazon Freezes Hiring for AWS

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Amazon Freezes Hiring for AWS

AWS, the web services division for Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN), reportedly has a hiring freeze that sent the stock down 0.63% in after-hours trading on Monday.

Details: The New York Post reported late Monday afternoon that AWS has told job candidates that some open roles have been frozen. An AWS spokesperson told the newspaper that some parts of the division have stopped hiring new employees but did not offer specifics on the hiring freeze.

Background: The AWS hiring freeze comes after Amazon reportedly enacted a hiring freeze a few weeks ago in some retail and logistics units, according to The New York Times. Last week, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos warned about a potential recession. Of course, other technology companies have been enacting hiring freezes for the past few months.

Stock Price: Amazon’s stock is down nearly 30% this year, but is up 4% in the last 30 days.

Final Thoughts: Amazon reports earnings on Thursday. AWS is one of Amazon’s most profitable divisions and is a leading cloud provider. If AWS is enacting a hiring freeze, that likely spells trouble for other cloud computing companies.

Notables

Notable Earnings Today: Alphabet (Nasdaq: GOOGL), UPS (NYSE: UPS), Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), General Motors (NYSE: GM), Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), Enphase Energy (Nasdaq: ENPH), Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE: CLF), Visa (NYSE: VISA), Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG), General Electric (NYSE: GE), Spotify (NYSE: SPOT), Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO), Texas Instruments (Nasdaq: TXN), 3M (NYSE: MMM), Skechers USA (NYSE: SKX), JetBlue Airways (Nasdaq: JBLU), Boyd Gaming (OTCMKTS: BYDDY), Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX), F5 Networks (Nasdaq: FFIV), Agilysys (Nasdaq: AGYS), Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE: ADM), Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE: AXTA), Biogen (Nasdaq: BIIB), Chemours (NYSE: CC), Chubb (NYSE: CB), Corning (NYSE: GLW), Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW), Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR), Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB), Mattel (Nasdaq: MAT), NVR (NYSE: NVR), PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM), Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW), Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: WH), Xerox (Nasdaq: XRX).

Notable IPOs Today: ASP Isotopes Inc. (Nasdaq: ASPI).

Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: Whimstay (Republic), AnyOneUp (DealMaker), YouSolar (StartEngine).

Notable Economic Events Today: CB Consumer Confidence (10:00 a.m. ET), API Weekly Crude Oil Stock (4:30 p.m. ET).

Discover Financial’s Higher Costs

Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) dropped 1.28% in after-hours trading on Monday after the financial services company posted mixed financial earnings.

Financials: Discover Financial reported earnings of $3.54 per share, which was below estimates. The company’s revenue of $3.47 billion was better than expected.

Provisional Problem: Credit loss provisions increased from $588 million last year to $773 million this year due to a reserve build in the current quarter. Total expenses also increased by 17% due to higher employee compensation and marketing costs. As a result, pretax income dropped.

Interested: The good news for the company is that net interest income grew 18% due to higher receivables and net interest margin expansion.

Final Thoughts: Discover Financial's stock is down 19% this year, but is up 5% in the last 30 days.

AGNC Rises Amid Higher Mortgage Spreads

Shares of AGNC Investment (Nasdaq: AGNC) ticked up 1.71% in after-hours trading on Monday after the real estate investment trust reported positive earnings of 84 cents per share, which was better than expected.

Final Thoughts: Although higher mortgage spreads have hurt the company in the short term, AGNC said that this provides higher projected returns in the long term.

Trends to Watch

Grilled: Weber stock jumps 25% after largest shareholder makes acquisition offer for grill maker (MarketWatch)

To Zuckerberg: Meta shareholder writes critical open letter saying company needs to slash headcount and stop spending so much money on ‘metaverse’ (CNBC)

Drop and Grow: Bitcoin Likely to Hold in a Tight Range (CoinDesk)

Concern in China: China Stocks Crumble in US as Worry Over Xi Spurs Record Selloff (Bloomberg)

Equity Crowdfunding Giant: Seedrs + Republic Equals Largest Investment Crowdfunding Platform in the World (Crowdfund Insider)

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