In terms of clarifying its narrative with the investment community, Bernstein pointed to the following three areas:

Do we need more 'same-day' and 'next-day' delivery? Bernstein remains skeptical about faster delivery's ability to drive more frequent shoppers and its financial viability.Continue to build out Amazon Media into the next great media property: Amazon can continue to gain share in the media space by growing its array of services, including original content, theatrical, and live sports, among others.Double down on Buy With Prime: Buy with Prime, a new service that allows Prime members to shop on third-party websites, has massive potential and Amazon should 'allocate more resources here,' Bernstein argued.Make a call on physical grocery once and for all: While the physical grocery push makes sense, Amazon has struggled so far, with Whole Foods sales more or less stagnant since its acquisition in 2017.'Is it worth continuing to fight for 2nd or even 3rd place in a foreign market with no discernible competitive advantage?' Bernstein wrote. Exit underwater international markets: Amazon has no 'incumbency advantage' in markets like Brazil, Mexico, and Singapore, and continues to lose money in India.At the very least, a separate 'bigger bets' disclosure of these projects should be considered, it said. Divest, seek outside funding, or trim spend across Healthcare and Project Kuiper: Amazon's big investments in healthcare and the Project Kuiper satellite internet service have been questionable with little results to show for.It said the company needs to narrow its focus and be more stringent about project timelines and milestones. 'I'm optimistic about our future prospects because I like the way our team is responding to the changes we see in front of us.'īernstein said Amazon has spread itself too thin by investing in too many ideas in recent years. 'Change is always around the corner,' Jassy wrote in the letter. He also wrote that Amazon took a 'deep look' into each investment area in recent months to determine their financial feasibility. Jassy wrote in the letter that the company is optimistic about grocery, satellite internet, international businesses, and healthcare services. 'It's time to re-focus capital, time to re-take the narrative, and time to get back to Day One,' the letter said.Īmazon's spokesperson declined to comment, and instead pointed to Jassy's annual shareholder letter. Many employees have been complaining about the loss of Day One mentality in recent years, as Insider previously reported. Most importantly, Bernstein said Amazon should get back to its famous ' Day One' mindset, which preaches the importance of maintaining a speedy, risk-taking entrepreneurial zeal found on a startup's first day. It also advised Amazon to share clearer disclosures around big bets, like Alexa, and to come up with more consistent messaging for the investor community. The letter recommended Amazon divest some of its recent large investments in healthcare, satellite internet service, and unprofitable international markets, while clarifying its approach to its struggling physical grocery business. But what we've seen recently is a company simply pursuing too many ideas, with weaker ideas taking away the oxygen, capital, and most importantly focus from the truly disruptive initiatives that 'only Amazon can do,'' Bernstein analyst Mark Shmulik wrote. 'We fully support Amazon's efforts to uncover and capture the next AWS-sized opportunity. In a brutal open letter to Amazon's CEO Andy Jassy and its board of directors, Bernstein urged a reassessment of the company's direction to 'quell investor concerns around the current investment strategy and investor communications.' The letter, published on Thursday, said Bernstein remains confident in Amazon's potential - it recently upgraded Amazon to its 'best investment idea in Internet' - but is seeing growing investor frustration over the the company's lack of focus. Investors are not happy about this and they want change, according to one of Wall Street's top research firms. In the past five years, you'd have made more by just sticking your money in an index fund, rather than investing in Amazon.

You'd have made more in an index fund than investing in Amazon over the past 5 years.

It urges Amazon to refocus on a smaller number of areas and provide more consistent messaging.

Bernstein, one of the top Wall Street research firms, wrote an open letter to Amazon's leadership.

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