FTC Sues Amazon Over Hidden Ad Pricing Scheme, Stock Slides
AMZN sits 30% above its 52-week low of $196.
Summary
The FTC, backed by 22 states, sued Amazon on Monday alleging a hidden 'soft reserve price' in its ad marketplace since 2019 that inflated costs for over a million advertisers, funneling tens of billions to Amazon. Amazon pushed back with data showing flat per-click costs and $8B in advertiser savings, but the stock is down 1.8% to $255.09 on Tuesday, extending the post-lawsuit slide. This is a major legal risk for a core high-margin business, and the case could take years with potential damages or structural remedies. Watch for any court rulings or settlement talks, though no specific date is set.
At the time of this announcement, AMZN was trading at $254.25 on NASDAQ in the Technology sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $2.7T. The 52-week trading range was $196.00 to $287.20. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10. Source: Benzinga.