SHLD v. AMZN

Last post was a (very) brief history of AMZN.

Today I would like to put in play a more comprehensive (IMHO) comparison. Below is a chart of SHLD and AMZN going back a scant 3 years prior to 2007, when Kmart merged with Sears.


Funny, but to my eyes this chart shows a very different picture than the SeekingAlpha chart that began in 2007. I can't blame the authors for wanting to use visuals that buttressed their argument. But I believe it only tells part of the story. In particular, the Great Recession -


The circled area is the 'technical' Great Recession - December 20017 to June 2009. Those of us who lived through it will attest that it started sooner and ended later.

Something like $15 TRILLION of household net worth disappeared during this time frame. Ouch! That's 22%, the same 22% that the Dow dropped on Black Monday 1987. Just a coincidence...

Yet you'll notice by 2010, the worst had seemingly passed and for a while Sears and Amazon's fortunes - stock price - rose in concert. Then suddenly, they diverged like two roads in a wood...

Next time, we'll examine some other stocks to see if we can get a better idea of why...

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