Amazon Bookstore stocks plunge, shares fall after US election

Amazon Books, the company’s main bookselling arm, fell sharply on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump’s election win and the fallout from the Paris climate accord.

Shares of the company plunged more than 2 percent to $27.50 on the Nasdaq in the early hours of Wednesday morning. 

Shares of Amazon Books plunged 4.7 percent to more than $23.50. 

In addition to the loss of book sales, Amazon Books is also facing mounting financial pressure from a US government mandate requiring it to pay a price for its goods and services to the government. 

“There’s no question that Amazon Books was hit hard by the election result,” said Andrew McAfee, an analyst at Bernstein Research.

“The company has not been able to keep pace with demand and the resulting uncertainty about the tax consequences of the deal.

It has been forced to make a tough decision and make the tough call to close down.””

Amazon Books is going to be very hard hit,” he added. 

Amazon has not disclosed the number of books that it has already lost as a result of the tax on its profits.

The company did not respond to a request for comment.

“The fact that Amazon has been the largest US retailer of books and has a very large inventory of titles has made it more vulnerable to a price shock than many other retailers,” said Alex Levitin, a retail analyst at BMO Capital Markets.

Levitin noted that Amazon does not have to charge the government for books that are not sold, but it does have to make its profits go toward the government’s social programs, which can be offset with lower prices for books.

Some Amazon employees have been preparing for the prospect of losing their jobs as a consequence of the election, and have formed a task force to make recommendations to the company.

Trump has said that Amazon will start offering its books in more foreign languages.

“Amazon has become a great target for hackers,” Levitins said.

“I think it’s fair to say that this could make it harder for Amazon to survive as a company.”

Amazon is not the only bookseller to be hit by the climate deal. 

Apple Books, a subsidiary of Apple, was also downgraded to underperform on Wednesday by S&P Capital IQ. 

The company’s stock was down more than 5 percent in early trading in New York on Wednesday morning to $22.97 a share.

Apple Books has about 5,000 bookstores worldwide and about 15,000 employees, according to the S&P Capital Index.

The company said in a statement on Tuesday that it would close 50 of its stores.

Amazon has a long history of publishing books for a range of popular genres, including science fiction, fantasy, romance and nonfiction. 

A statement from Amazon said: “Our focus will be on supporting local communities and local businesses and providing our customers with great deals.

We’re committed to the long-term growth of our business, and we’ll continue to work hard to support our employees and communities.”

Amazon’s stock is down more recently than Apple Books because it has had to shut down bookstores in several states to comply with a tax on profits from its books.