Would investing in Amazon and Tesla actually be a mistake?

Article from The Motley Fool: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/2-stocks-could-los…

With Amazon disrupting multiple industries and Tesla delivering promising technological advancements, many are buying their shares with extreme optimism. However, investing in these companies might actually make you lose money.


The key issue with Tesla is the fact that it's already trading as though it were a major car company. At $53 billion, its market capitalization is actually slightly ahead of Ford (NYSE: F). That's despite the fact that Ford's $150 billion in trailing sales and $4.4 billion in trailing earnings absolutely dwarfs Tesla's $11 billion in trailing sales $1.4 billion in trailing losses.

The past has been wonderful for Amazon.com investors, but for current investors, there's a lot of risk priced into its stock. Consider that from a revenue perspective Amazon.com's $161 billion is around a third of fellow retail titan Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT)'s $495 billion, yet Wal-Mart's market cap is around half of Amazon.com's. The story is similar on an earnings front, too. Over the past four quarters, Amazon.com has earned around $1.9 billion, which is small compared with Walmart's $11.4 billion.

Looking at these numbers, the article does make a point that their shares are priced way higher than their own competitors, who are larger in scale and more profitable. What are your thoughts? Do you think investing in these companies is a good idea?

 

Depends on your term of investment and your view of certain variables like growth.

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

Yes, some aggressive estimates say so. XOM says EV’s will be just 10% of the market. Some estimates have it closer to 30%. Even if you’re right, whose to say much of that growth will be by Tesla when other companies are getting in on the market such as BMW and Volvo. Tesla’s priced as if they’re already selling millions of cars a year.

 
Best Response
TheDebtStar:
Yes, some aggressive estimates say so. XOM says EV’s will be just 10% of the market. Some estimates have it closer to 30%. Even if you’re right, whose to say much of that growth will be by Tesla when other companies are getting in on the market such as BMW and Volvo. Tesla’s priced as if they’re already selling millions of cars a year.

There are threads on this very forum from 2013/2014 that make the same case you're making about Tesla, and yet Tesla stock pushes on. If cryptocurrency--which has zero intrinsic value and no present use--can be worth $250 billion then Tesla can be priced at anything people are willing to pay for it. Tesla's "goodwill" is worth so much more than Ford or GM's, and so long as Elon Musk is CEO then I suspect the stock price will maintain its relative strength. To me the biggest risk as a Tesla investor is "cult of personality" risk. If Musk dies in a car wreck or drops dead from a heart attack then I could see the stock collapse permanently. But Musk's presense will keep the price up.

As far as EVs go, I don't see any way that EVs don't completely dominate the market in 2 decades. The entire autnomous vehicle platform is predicated upon electric vehicles (for reasons relating to maintenance and corporate ownership of the vehicle) and the EU and China are basically trying to ban the ICE. In the U.S., you'll probably see California ban ICE sales in the next decade, which will pretty much turn the U.S. market inexorably toward EVs.

Caveat: I own no Tesla stock--I own the "total market." Also, I drive a gas-guzzling ICE vehicle.

Array
 

Quibusdam temporibus dolorem veritatis. Doloremque sed nulla dicta numquam. Ratione sed sunt dicta vel enim voluptatem delectus.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (87) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (146) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
numi's picture
numi
98.8
10
Kenny_Powers_CFA's picture
Kenny_Powers_CFA
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”