In short
Earn Your Leisure Podcast Episode Summary
Podcast Overview Title: Earn Your Leisure Hosts: Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings Description: A unique blend of financial insights from the entertainment and sports industries, entrepreneurship stories, business models breakdown, and the latest finance trends.
Episode Title Is Amazon Still a Smart Investment?
Episode Summary In this episode, finance experts Troy Millings, Ian Dunlap, and Rashad Bilal engage in a thorough discussion about Amazon's current market position as a potential investment choice amid evolving economic factors and competition in the tech industry.
Key Discussion Points
- Impact of Tariffs on E-Commerce
- Troy raises concerns about how tariffs could affect Amazon and its competitiveness in the e-commerce sector.
- The discussion highlights how these tariffs impact importers and the pricing strategies of small businesses versus Amazon.
- Investment Preferences
- Rashad shares his personal investment strategy, stating that Amazon does not currently make his top five investment picks.
- Rashad's Top Picks:
- Nvidia
- Microsoft
- TSM (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing)
- Consideration for ETFs like QQQ
- Amazon's Dominance Across Sectors
- Ian and Troy counter Rashad's perspective by emphasizing Amazon's stronghold in various sectors, particularly Amazon Web Services (AWS) and its potential in the healthcare industry.
- The conversation touches on how Amazon tends to dominate markets it enters.
- Global Sellers on Amazon
- Ian highlights the growing percentage of sellers on Amazon's platform who are based in China, which is currently estimated at 49%.
- The implications of this reliance on international markets are considered in contrast to companies like Meta, which are less dependent on Chinese markets.
- Market Monopolies and Profit Margins
- The group discusses market monopolies, with comparisons between tech giants like Amazon, Apple, and Nvidia.
- The dialogue explores why profit margins for companies like Amazon can be lower due to high capital expenditures associated with growth and infrastructure.
Key Takeaways
- Investment Strategy: Rashad's preference for stocks over Amazon indicates a strategic shift toward companies perceived to have stronger growth potential.
- Market Dynamics: The reliance on Chinese sellers poses risks for Amazon, while AWS presents significant growth opportunities.
- Monopoly Concerns: The ongoing debate over market dominance and the sustainability of profit margins for major tech firms remains a crucial aspect of investment discussions.
Conclusion This episode of Earn Your Leisure provides listeners with a comprehensive analysis of Amazon's market position, insights into investment strategies, and the implications of global sales dynamics. The engaging debate helps both novice and experienced investors understand the complexities of investing in major tech stocks.
Hashtags
- #InvestmentInsights
- #AmazonStock
- #TechStocks
- #Nvidia
- #Microsoft
- #TSM
- #ETFs
- #Ecommerce
- #AWS
- #MarketMonopoly
- #GlobalBusiness
- #FinanceTalk
Sponsors
- PNC Bank: [Learn more](https://www.pnc.com)
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Additional Links
- [InvestFest Tickets](https://investfest.com/tickets/)
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This structured summary encapsulates the content of the episode while providing insights into the key discussions and arguments presented by the hosts and guests.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human. Run a business and not thinking about podcasting? Think again. More Americans listen to podcasts than ad-supported streaming music from Spotify and Pandora. And as the number one podcaster, iHeart's twice as large as the next two combined. Learn how podcasting can help your business. Call 844-844-iHeart. Hey, it's Joel. And Matt. From HowToMoney. If your New Year's resolution is to finally get your finances in shape, we've got your back. Prices, they're still high. And the economy is all over the place. But 2026 is the year for you to get intentional and make real progress.
0:35That's right. Each week we break down what's happening with your money, the most important issues to focus on, and the small moves that make a big difference. Kick off the year with confidence. Listen to How to Money on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What if mind control is real? If you could control the behavior of anybody around you, what kind of life would you have? Can you hypnotically persuade someone to buy a car? When you look at your car, you're going to become overwhelmed with such good feelings. Can you hypnotize someone into sleeping with you?
1:05I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused. Can you get someone to join your cult? NLP was used on me to access my subconscious. Mind Games, a new podcast exploring NLP, a.k.a. neurolinguistic programming. Is it a self-help miracle, a shady hypnosis scam, or both? Listen to Mind Games on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. An illegal alien from Guatemala charged with raping a child in Massachusetts. An MS-13 gang member from El Salvador accused of murdering a Texas man. A Venezuelan charged with filming and selling child pornography in Michigan. These are just some of the heinous migrant criminals caught because of President Donald J.
1:51Trump's leadership. I'm Kristi Noem, the United States Secretary of Homeland Security. Under President Trump, attempted illegal border crossings are at the lowest levels ever recorded, and over 100 ,000 illegal aliens have been arrested. If you are here illegally, you're next. You will be fined nearly$1 ,000 a day, imprisoned and deported. You will never return. But if you register using our CBP Home app and leave now, you could be allowed to return legally. Do what's right. Leave now. Under President Trump, America's laws, border, and families will be protected. Sponsored by the United States Department of Homeland Security.
2:30Repeat the question. I said in times like this, right, in terms of tariffs, Amazon being e-commerce, we know that tariffs are going to affect the actual importer, right? So the person that's bringing it in, they're acting as a third-party consumer at this point because they're shipping it to you. They've always been on lower price, lower price, lower price. and so the small business that has to pay that won't be able to do that that will bring more business to amazon should would we i mean it might be advantageous obviously i hold large shares in amazon but even in this environment this seems like an attractive place to put some money in no rishard you want to go first all right because i got a interesting take that i want to bring up about amazon yeah let's do it i'm not that's what we're here for um amazon's not on my top really?
3:17Amazon has been as go ahead Rashad, my apologies not your top what? okay let's wake it up you gotta go with the starting five you down by 20 points, you go with the starting five to get back into the game Amazon for me is not in my starting five who's your five? Nvidia Microsoft PSM you cooking and and
3:46that's the big three right there oh boy it's just big me I'm going with you no it's just stock not ETS that's the rebound but you need a rebounder you got to get dirty plays no just stocks because Amazon just I could say TSM but those are mine those are my picks Netflix boy damn See, you can throw in anybody at this point. The fact that you have to wait to think of... Meta. You're taking... I'll take Meta. You're taking Meta right now? That's for sure. I'll take Meta over Amazon. Who has the biggest monopoly outside of Apple? Nvidia. I'll put those two.
4:32I'll wait. Labusi. You meant Amazon. right you're mad amazon right in terms of in terms of sector dominance and when they come into a space they come they take over multiple sectors which leads which leads me to my point gotta look who else outside of apple microsoft nvidia do they have a monopoly what on what what's the monopoly on what they have what the open ai that is running the race google has a monopoly on what search you just chat gbt no but they're not that's not comparable to google it's a decaying this episode is brought to you by pnc bank a lot of people think podcasts about work are boring and sure they definitely can be but understanding a professional's routine shows us how they achieve their success little by little day after day It's like banking with PNC Bank.
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7:06An illegal alien from Guatemala charged with raping a child in Massachusetts. An MS-13 gang member from El Salvador accused of murdering a Texas man. A Venezuelan charged with filming and selling child pornography in Michigan. These are just some of the heinous migrant criminals caught because of President Donald J. Trump's leadership. I'm Kristi Noem, the United States Secretary of Homeland Security. Under President Trump, attempted illegal border crossings are at the lowest levels ever recorded. And over 100 ,000 illegal aliens have been arrested. If you are here illegally, you're next. You will be fined nearly$1 ,000 a day, imprisoned and deported.
7:49You will never return. But if you register using our CBP Home app and leave now, you could be allowed to return legally. Do what's right. Leave now. Under President Trump, America's laws, border, and families will be protected. Sponsored by the United States Department of Homeland Security. There are 500 million people using ChadGBT daily. The two biggest search engines are Google and YouTube. And Google owns YouTube. But that's declining. We already know that. So it's not really a monopoly if you're ready to decline. But YouTube, that's a hell of a hedge. That's like digital Bitcoin, yo. But somebody's knocking on that door, right?
8:27For sure. If ChadGBT come out with like a video... That door's getting kicked in. Interesting stat. 2016, percentage of top sellers in China and Amazon. 24%. 2017, 22 percent 2019 33 to 38 percent in 2020 percentage of sellers based in china 42 percent right now it's estimated that 49 percent of sellers on amazon's platform are in china that isn't scary that's dangerous that that percentage that's dangerous of sellers and also we're not even going to break down who's making that's not surprising when you you just made the point like everything that we buy is made with in china for sure but like if it's an american company yeah exactly they decide they'd be like no you're done we're gonna take we're gonna do our own like at least meta's not dependent on china that's actually kind of helpful yes i don't know amazon has already been well i'm not sure if it's just depending on china because you're just talking about the e-commerce business aws is something totally different but the e-commerce is a major part it's a major part but aws is just as major and for what we just saw walking around yeah but they're in there but that's what i'm saying and they're in there too and if you looked at nvidia's partners that name was there we saw that you know whose name wasn't there you see what i'm saying oh for sure so it sounds good like those companies i'll go i'm not knocking your five your five is your five but yeah to throw them out like nah bro they don't five are fire though that's uh i'm not knocking it i'm just saying one of them we're not gonna treat them like they not For sure, but their issue is profit margins.
10:13But why is the profit margin that low? Because capital expenditure, they're always growing, they're always building, which is part of business. We can't, for sure. They're one of them ones, man. I'm standing on that. Who with me? But I'll be clear, Amazon ain't fucking with NVIDIA on no day. I didn't say that. I'm just saying outside of Apple and NVIDIA, the monopoly space, when they come into a space, they come to dominate. They come to take over. We've seen it. Right. And they still have space to grow because health care is something that they haven't just come in and dominated yet. When you add their services to health care.
10:50An illegal alien from Guatemala charged with raping a child in Massachusetts. An MS-13 gang member from El Salvador accused of murdering a Texas man. A Venezuelan charged with filming and selling child pornography in Michigan. These are just some of the heinous migrant criminals caught because of President Donald J. Trump's leadership. I'm Kristi Noem, the United States Secretary of Homeland Security. Under President Trump, attempted illegal border crossings are at the lowest levels ever recorded. And over 100 ,000 illegal aliens have been arrested. If you are here illegally, you're next. You will be fined nearly$1 ,000 a day, imprisoned and deported.
11:33You will never return. But if you register using our CBP Home app and leave now, you could be allowed to return legally. Do what's right. Leave now. Under President Trump, America's laws, border, and families will be protected. Sponsored by the United States Department of Homeland Security. Hey, it's Joel. And Matt from HowToMoney. If your New Year's resolution is to finally get your finances in shape, we've got your back. Prices, they're still high, and the economy is all over the place. But 2026 is the year for you to get intentional and make real progress. That's right. Each week we break down what's happening with your money, the most important issues to focus on, and the small moves that make a big difference.
12:14Kick off the year with confidence. Listen to How to Money on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What if mind control is real? If you could control the behavior of anybody around you, what kind of life would you have? Can you hypnotically persuade someone to buy a car? When you look at your car, you're going to become overwhelmed with such good feelings. Can you hypnotize someone into sleeping with you? I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused. Can you get someone to join your cult? NLP was used on me to access my subconscious. Mind Games, a new podcast exploring NLP, a.k.a.
12:49neurolinguistic programming. Is it a self-help miracle, a shady hypnosis scam, or both? Listen to Mind Games on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
13:25Our two-part conversation is available now. Listen to the mailroom on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows. This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.
From the publisher
In this insightful clip, finance experts Troy Millings, Ian Dunlap, and Rashad Bilal dive deep into the ever-evolving landscape of major tech stocks and investment strategies. The conversation starts with a focus on Amazon, as Troy contemplates the implications of tariffs on e-commerce and how it might impact Amazon’s position as an attractive investment.
Rashad shares his perspective, revealing that Amazon isn’t currently in his top five picks for investments. Instead, he places his faith in Nvidia, Microsoft, and TSM, while also considering ETFs like QQQ for strong rebounds. Ian and Troy challenge Rashad’s view by discussing Amazon’s dominance across multiple sectors, particularly in AWS and its potential in healthcare.
A fascinating discussion unfolds about the dynamics of global sellers on Amazon’s platform, with Ian highlighting the increasing presence of Chinese sellers. This sparks a dialogue on Amazon's dependency on international markets, compared to companies like Meta that are less reliant on China.
This clip is full of engaging debates on market monopolies, tech giants, and investment strategies, providing valuable insights to both novice and seasoned investors. Whether you're interested in the dominance of tech giants like Apple and Nvidia, or keen to explore new opportunities in burgeoning sectors, this discussion has something for everyone.
*Hashtags:* #InvestmentInsights #AmazonStock #TechStocks #Nvidia #Microsoft #TSM #ETFs #Ecommerce #AWS #MarketMonopoly #GlobalBusiness #FinanceTalk
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