Could Jeff Bezos Return As Amazon CEO And Rescue Falling Shares? Here's What One Expert Thinks

After spending over 25 years leading the e-commerce company he founded, Jeff Bezos stepped down as the CEO of Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN in 2021.

With Amazon shares struggling, could Bezos make a triumphant return in 2023?

What Happened: Ritholtz Wealth Management Managing Partner Michael Batnick included Bezos returning as the CEO of Amazon as one of his 10 stock predictions for 2023.

“Amazon experienced its largest share price decline on an annual basis since the dot-com bubble burst,” Batnick said. “Jeff Bezos spent 27 years at Amazon and has been gone for less than two. In 2023, he pulls a Bob Iger and returns to steady the ship.”

Batnick shares the stock performance of Amazon since 1999, which is as follows:

1999: +42%

2000: -80%

2001: -30%

2002: +75%

2003: +179%

2004: -16%

2005: +6%

2006: -16%

2007: +135%

2008: -45%

2009: +162%

2010: +34%

2011: -4%

2012: +45%

2013: +59%

2014: -22%

2015: +118%

2016: +11%

2017: +56%

2018: +28%

2019: +23%

2020: +76%

2021: +2%

2022: -50%

Shares had their worst return since 2000 in the past year. Batnick pointed out 2022 was much different than 2000 and the dot-com bubble.

“Amazon has seen worse drawdown, but when it peaked during the dot-com bubble on its way to a 90%+ decline, it had a market cap of $46 billion. It lost more than $30 billion on multiple days in 2022 and shed $840 billion this year alone. It’s hard to compare this company to what it was back then.”

Related Link: Bob Iger Returns As Disney CEO After Reports Of Growing Rift With Bob Chapek

Bezos founded Amazon in 1994 and served as the CEO of the company before stepping down in 2021, 27 years from the day when the company was founded.

“We chose that date because it's sentimental for me, the day Amazon was incorporated in 1994, exactly 27 years ago,” Bezos said at the time.

During his time as CEO, Amazon stock saw one of the best performances of technology stocks. Under Bezos's leadership, Amazon became one of the few companies to ever hit a market capitalization of $1 trillion.

Since leaving the CEO role, Amazon shares have struggled. Former Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy serves as the current CEO of Amazon with Bezos maintaining the Executive Chairman title.

Coincidentally, shares of Amazon hit 52-week highs shortly before Bezos stepped down from the CEO role. 

What’s Next: Bezos returning to Amazon as CEO would be a move similar to what other companies have seen. As mentioned by Batnick, Walt Disney Co DIS brought back Bob Iger as CEO.

Under Iger’s leadership, Disney completed the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm and shares saw strong returns. Shares of Disney were up on the heels of the Iger announcement, showing that shareholders supported the move and change.

Another company that has brought back its former CEO is Starbucks Corporation SBUX, with Howard Schultz returning in 2008 to help the coffee chain that was struggling under new leadership.

Amazon turned in disappointing earnings and guidance in its last quarterly report. The company had also announced layoffs and is struggling to win over investor support as shares hit new 52-week lows.

While many people are making predictions for 2023, Batnick was correct with some of his 2022 predictions. Among his calls was the S&P 500 would have its worst year since 2008 and be down over 15%. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY had its worst year since 2008 and was down 19% in 2022.

AMZN Price Action: Amazon shares are down 1.70% to $83.70 on Thursday. Over the past five years, shares of Amazon were up 36%; the last 10 years, shares were up 524%. 

Read Next: Jeff Bezos Says Don't Buy That New TV, Save Your Money Instead, Here's Why 

Photo: lev radin via Shutterstock