Amazon Moves Forward With Satellite Internet Ambitions, Secures New Zealand Land for Project Kuiper

Amazon.com Inc AMZN bagged regulatory permission in July to buy a 500-square-meter site in New Zealand for Project Kuiper.

Amazon proposes to install and operate telecommunications equipment on the land to cater to its New Zealand customers, Bloomberg cites the Overseas Investment Office in Wellington.

Project Kuiper is Amazon’s initiative to develop a large-scale satellite broadband constellation that will provide reliable, affordable Internet service to underserved communities worldwide.

This project is part of a broader movement involving several companies planning to launch satellite constellations to offer global broadband internet coverage.

Amazon’s Project Kuiper aims to offer broadband internet from a constellation of more than 3,000 satellites in low Earth orbit, mirroring Elon Musk’s Starlink.

The financial terms of the land acquisition were not disclosed.

It aims to launch its satellites before the end of 2024 and start the first customer tests in 2025, with a commercial service to follow later in the year. However, challenges loom in balancing affordability and service quality.

In June, Amazon’s Project Kuiper collaborated with DIRECTV Latin America parent Vrio Corp to offer satellite broadband in seven South American countries.

In August, Amazon reported 10% second-quarter topline growth, reaching $148 billion but trailing the analyst consensus estimate of $148.56 billion.

Amazon stock gained 27% in the last 12 months.

Amazon Stock Prediction For 2024

When buying a stock for a longer time horizon, it is important for investors to assess where they think the stock is headed in the future.

When mapping a stock's future trajectory, investors should consider factors including the future earnings expectations and expected performance against a benchmark.

Amazon.com's revenue has grown at an average rate of 17.61% annually over the past 5 years. The average 1-year price target from analysts is $223.06, representing an expected 30.6% upside in 2025.

While past performance is not a guarantee of future results, investors should also look at a stock's historical performance when compared to both a benchmark index and the company's peers. Shares of Amazon.com have seen an annualized return of -0.05%, underperforming the S&P500 index by 7.33%. This compares to 0.99% growth in the overall Consumer Discretionary sector. Amazon.com has a beta of 1.55.

Price Action: AMZN stock traded higher by 0.74% at $172.06 premarket at last check Thursday.

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