Amazon.com Inc’s shares fell as much as 7 per cent on Wednesday, wiping out about $52 billion from the company’s market value, after a report that US President Donald Trump wants to go after the US tech giant.
Trump has talked about changing Amazon’s tax treatment because he’s worried about mom-and-pop retailers being put out of business, Axios reported earlier on Wednesday.
Amazon could not be immediately reached for comment.
“Capitol Hill wants Facebook’s blood, but President Trump isn’t interested. Instead, the tech behemoth Trump wants to go after is Amazon,” the news website reported, citing five sources who have discussed the issue with him.
The report comes at a time when tech stocks are already under pressure after Facebook Inc acknowledged earlier this month that user data had been improperly harvested by a consultancy firm.
“With Facebook and regulatory worries the last thing nervous tech investors wanted to see was news that Trump is targeting Bezos and Amazon over the coming months as this remains a lingering cloud over the stock and heightens the risk profile in the eyes of the Street,” GBH Insights analyst Daniel Ives said.
Trump had in the past criticized Amazon and its founder and Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, who is also the richest person in the world with a net worth of more than $100 billion, according to Forbes.
Bezos also owns The Washington Post, a newspaper Trump has repeatedly railed against in his criticisms of the news media.
“He’s obsessed with Amazon,” a source told Axios.