Amazon saw its stock take a more nearly 6 percent tumble on Wednesday after a report that President Donald Trump wants to “go after” the tech behemoth via antitrust laws or tax policies.
According to an Axios report that cited unnamed sources, Trump is “obsessed” with Amazon and has broached the idea of changing the company’s tax status out of concern that the e-retail giant is putting the squeeze on brick-and-mortar retailers.
“He’s wondered aloud if there may be any way to go after Amazon with antitrust or competition law,” an individual who has spoken to POTUS told the news site. The report noted that “he doesn’t have a plan to make that happen.”
Within hours, shares in Jeff Bezos’ Seattle-based tech giant dropped to $1,408.01 — down nearly 6 percent from the opening bell on NASDAQ.
According to Axios, Trump has told people he believes that Amazon is getting “cushy treatment” from the U.S. Postal Service, a notion that the site itself disputed.
Trump’s antipathy toward Amazon may also be linked to CEO Jeff Bezos’ ownership of The Washington Post, which has been consistently critical of the Republican president.
As of midday Wednesday, the drop in Amazon’s stock price eliminated roughly $40 billion in shareholder value.