Amazon To Open Regional Air Hub In North Texas, Create Jobs

In a bid to strengthen its delivery services, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) plans to open a regional air hub at the Fort Worth Alliance Airport, which is expected to commence its operations from 2019. This new air hub is also expected to create multiple job opportunities for North Texas residents.

The air hub is anticipated to cater to Amazon’s large-scale needs as it has appropriate infrastructure to manage flights on a daily basis.

Notably, the company’s focus on expanding its distribution networks is expected to create a better shopping experience.

Aided by its aircraft, Amazon One, the company fulfills its one and two-day packaged deliveries for Prime members. The e-commerce giant has revealed that Prime members worldwide have ordered more than 2 billion items throughout 2018 so far by utilizing the power of its faster delivery services, which is a positive.

The latest move underscores the company’s two basic strategies of continual expansion and increased focus on fulfilling customer needs.

Coming to price performance, Amazon’s shares have gained 40.5% on a year-to-date basis compared with the industry’s rally of 1.6%.

Prime: A Key Growth Driver

Amazon continues to benefit from its robust Prime program, which gives it a competitive edge in the retail business. Prime also boasts a loyal subscriber base. Thus, the company with its offers and fast delivery option, encourages the customer to spend more on Amazon, which helps in boosting the company’s revenues.

In the last-reported quarter, the e-commerce giant significantly expanded its grocery services, which include delivery as well as pick-up services for natural and organic products. The service is currently available in more than 60 U.S. cities.

The company also unveiled Prime Book Box, a subscription service aimed at instilling the habit of reading story books among children. Additionally, Amazon expanded its global footprint by making Prime available to individuals in Canada and Mexico in the last reported quarter.

Further, the company’s growing initiatives toward enriching its video portfolio with regional and award-winning content remains a tailwind. Amazon’s offering of free video games via Twitch Prime is also aiding growth.

Amazon.com, Inc. Price and Consensus

Amazon Continues to Create Job Opportunities

The e-commerce giant has been successful in creating multiple job opportunities while strengthening its freight delivery services.

Amazon plans to open a sorting facility in Brooklyn Park and hire 450 workers. The new office will mark its fourth facility in Minnesota and expand workforce in the area.

Reportedly, it already has plans to open a huge fulfillment center at a location separate from the proposed sorting facility, which is projected to generate up to 2,500 jobs in Brooklyn Park. The fulfillment center will be located near 109th and Winnetka avenues.

The company also hired 200 people to work from home across varied departments including, customer service, human resources and sales, per reports from AJC.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Currently, Amazon carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader computer and technology sector include Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE:GNRC) , SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSNC) and Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC) . All the three stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here.

Expected long-term earnings growth rate for Generac, SS&C and Symantec is 6.5%, 13.5% and 7.9%, respectively.

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