Here’s Why Amazon.com (AMZN) Reported Strong Q1

Meridian Funds, managed by ArrowMark Partners, released its “Meridian Hedged Equity Fund” first quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. Risk assets continued to rise while market volatility remained low in the first quarter, perhaps indicating that investors are becoming somewhat complacent.  In the quarter, the fund appreciated 5.46% (net), trailing its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, which returned 10.56%. Also, the Fund slightly lagged behind its secondary benchmark, the CBOE S&P 500 Buy/Write Index’s 6.02% return. In addition, you can check the top 5 holdings of the fund to know its best picks in 2024.

Meridian Hedged Equity Fund highlighted stocks like Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in its Q1 2024 investor letter. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) provides consumer products, advertising, and subscription services through online and physical stores. The one-month return of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) was 7.97%, and its shares gained 51.38% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On June 26, 2024, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock closed at $193.61 per share with a market capitalization of $2.015 trillion.

Meridian Hedged Equity Fund stated the following regarding Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:

"Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) reported a strong quarter. Its focus on streamlining its fulfillment network through regionalization efforts has yielded significant cost savings and efficiency gains. These improvements, coupled with strategic investments in automation and robotics, are expected to further enhance margins and profitability in the coming quarters. We believe the set-up for margin expansion over the coming years is compelling. Driven both by efficiency gains and growth in more profitable businesses like advertising, Amazon continues to invest strategically in innovation and expansion initiatives. These include advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning, hello the development of new fulfillment centers and delivery stations, and the expansion of Prime services and digital content offerings. We believe these strategic investments are laying the groundwork for sustained growth and market leadership in the years to come and continue to hold shares in Amazon as an unhedged position."

A customer entering an internet retail store, illustrating the convenience of online shopping.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is in first position on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 302 hedge fund portfolios held Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) at the end of the first quarter which was 293 in the previous quarter. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) reported strong results in the first quarter and delivered $143.3 billion in revenue, up 13% year-over-year. While we acknowledge the potential of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

We discussed Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in another article and shared the list of AI stocks Big Tech Funds are Buying. Baron Fifth Avenue Growth Fund discussed Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in its Q1 2024 investor letter. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.