A managing partner at Ritholtz Wealth Management is predicting that former Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos will return to the role this year.
Separately, the e-commerce giant disclosed yesterday that it would lay off slightly more than 18,000 of its employees.
A Comeback for Bezos Is Forecast
Bezos will retake the reins at AMZN in 2023, predicts Ritholtz’s managing partner, Michael Batnick. The forecast from Batnick was on his “10 financial market predictions” for 2023 list.
The managing partner believes that Bezos will return primarily because of the poor performance of AMZN stock, which has tumbled 48% over the last year. During the same period, the Nasdaq sank 30.65%.
In recent years, Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) founder Howard Schultz has come out of retirement multiple times to reassume the CEO role at the coffee retailer, while Bob Iger last year suspended his own retirement to retake the helm at Disney (NYSE:DIS).
Amazon’s Layoffs and AMZN Stock
The e-commerce giant disclosed that it would dismiss slightly over 18,000 of its employees. The current CEO, Andy Jassy, indicated that more layoffs are imminent.
“Our annual planning process extends into the new year, which means there will be more role reductions as leaders continue to make adjustments,” he stated.
Commentators are suggesting that declining demand for e-commerce and weak digital ad trends led to the layoffs.
However, the growth of Amazon’s cloud business could also be slowing. Yesterday Swiss bank UBS downgraded its rating on Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) to “neutral” from “buy.” As the key reason for the downgrade, the firm cited evidence that Microsoft’s cloud business growth is sharply declining.
Amazon’s cloud unit has the most market share in the sector, while MSFT is number two in the industry.
On the date of publication, Larry Ramer did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
