Other tech companies have lost value since their pandemic boom too, but none has lost quite so much.
This week, Amazon made history as the very first publicly-traded company to lose over $1 trillion in value. On Wednesday alone, its market capitalization dropped from a high of $1.88 trillion down to an astonishingly low figure of just $879 billion.
By the end of trading on Friday, Amazon had already bounced back and its market capitalization exceeded $1.02 trillion once again. Nevertheless, the incredible milestone it reached Wednesday will remain etched in history forever! Last Friday, Microsoft’s market value skyrocketed to a new record of $2.5 trillion and ended the day at an astounding $1.84 trillion when trading concluded for the week. In August 2021, Meta (formerly known as Facebook) surged to a value of just over $1 trillion, and it has since stabilised around $300 billion at market close on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped a steep 7% since the beginning of 2022, but there have been periods when it was reduced even more.
Other industries are feeling the crunch as well. Video game sales will drop in 2022, while streaming services such as Netflix had an explosive year but now face financial turmoil. Consequently, these giants must seek out additional revenue sources to stay afloat.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has launched a comprehensive review of the company’s budget in order to reduce costs. Doing away with unprofitable projects and assigning personnel to different roles are two of the ways this process can be carried out. Amazon is carefully examining its device business, including Alexa-enabled smart speakers, according to the report.
Amazon did not respond to request for comment.