In this article, we discuss the 10 companies Bezos is investing in. You can skip our detailed analysis of Jeff Bezos’ investment strategies, and go directly to read Jeff Bezos Stock Portfolio: 5 Companies Bezos Is Investing In.
A Princeton graduate, Jeff Bezos founded e-commerce giant Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in 1994 with $10,000 of his own and served as its CEO till 2021. He was the youngest vice president at D.E. Shaw, a multinational investment management company. He left this job during the dot-com bubble when the web was growing by 2,300% annually. As of October 2021, Jeff Bezos has a net worth of $189.5 billion.
Bezos made an early investment of $250,000 in Google in 1998, four years after he started Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). Google now operates under its parent company, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG). Later on, he invested over $1 million in the company, citing its future growth potential. Bezos also founded an investment company, Bezos Expeditions, in 2005, that mainly manages his personal investments.
Jeff Bezos has made a number of investments through Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), his personal wealth, Bezos Expeditions, and Nash Holdings LLC, a private company owned by him. Some of the sectors that he invests in include real estate, technology, media, travel, and charitable trusts and foundations. Along with this, he also invests in biotech companies to treat serious chronic illnesses, agricultural tech, and finance companies.
In August 2013, Bezos bought The Washington Post, an American daily newspaper, in a deal worth $250 million. At that time, the company was struggling financially. The acquisition was made through Nash LLC.
In 2008, he made an investment of nearly $15 million in Twitter, Inc. (NYSE:TWTR). Along with this, some of his most famous investments also include Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB), Business Insider and Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER).
Recently, Jeff Bezos invested in an Indonesian e-commerce start-up, Ula. The company mainly offers technology solutions to retailers and expects to expand its operations in other regions as well. Currently, the billionaire is investing in a number of private companies as well.
Our Methodology:
Let’s analyze our list of the companies Bezos is investing in. The companies mentioned below are the stocks that have been included in Bezos’ portfolio recently as well as those in which the billionaire invested in the past through his investment firm Bezos Expeditions.
Jeff Bezos
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Jeff Bezos Stock Portfolio: 10 Companies Bezos Is Investing In
10. Plenty
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: N/A
Plenty is an American vertical farming company that utilizes agricultural technology to produce fresh, clean, and pesticide-free food crops. The company ranks tenth on our list of the companies Bezos is investing in.
In 2017, Bezos Expeditions made an investment of $200 million during the company’s Series B funding. In 2016, the company managed to raise $24.5 million. In 2019, Plenty raised $175 million in Series C funding, bringing the total funding to $400 million, with a $1.05 billion valuation. Eric Schmidt, former chairman of Google and an American leading tech businessman, is also an investor in Plenty, along with Bezos.
The company caught Bezos’ attention because of its different methods of growing crops vertically, with plants grown outwards. This method can produce crops at yields that are 530 times greater than the typical field.
Plenty is one of the notable companies in Bezos’ portfolio, like Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER), Twitter, Inc. (NYSE:TWTR), Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB), Domo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DOMO), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG).
9. NextDoor
Number of Hedge Funds: N/A
NextDoor stands ninth on our list of the companies Bezos is investing in. It is a social network service for neighborhoods, which was founded in 2008. The main goal of the app is to help and build real-world connections with nearby people. NextDoor has headquarters in California, U.S.
In 2013, Bezos Expeditions invested in the company during its Series B funding. Recently, the company was acquired by Khosla Ventures Acquisition Co. II, a SPAC company. According to NextDoor’s official website, the app is used in 1 in 3 households in the U.S. and has over 63 million verified users. The company also reported a 2.3x increase in weekly engagement as more users joined the app during Q2 2021.
NextDoor will be possibly launching an IPO soon with an expected valuation of between $4 billion to $5 billion. To date, the company has managed to raise $470 million in total funding.
Bezos’ investment in NextDoor shows that he has always been interested in companies with unique business models like Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER), Twitter, Inc. (NYSE:TWTR), Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB), Domo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DOMO), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG).
8. Remitly Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:RELY)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: N/A
Remitly Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:RELY) is an American digital remittance company that offers a 100% secure money transfer process. The company charges a small fee for transferring money overseas. Remitly Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:RELY) ranks eighth on our list of the companies Bezos is investing in.
Jeff Bezos’ Bezos Expeditions is one of the company’s earliest investors with $505 million funding. Remitly Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:RELY) went public in September 2021, with the shares rising 13% on its first day as a public company. Its market value grew to $7.8 billion, compared with $1.5 billion during its private funding in July 2020. In the past year, Remitly Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:RELY) announced an $85 million funding round due to the global surge in digital remittances. Bezos Expeditions currently includes the company in its portfolio.
7. Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 10
At the end of Q2 2021, Bezos’ fund held a $32 million stake in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL), a pasture-raised egg company in the U.S. Even though the company suffered due to the rising grain and freight costs, it managed to generate revenue of $60.3 million in Q2, up 2% from the prior-year quarter. It posted a GAAP EPS of $0.09, beating the estimates by $0.11.
Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) owns over 100 farms in six U.S. states and focuses on the outdoor pasture system. The stock gained 3.63% in the past month. This September, Brain Holland of Cowen initiated its coverage on Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) with an ‘Outperform’ rating and a $23 price target, highlighting the customers’ raising awareness of organic products.
Marshall Wace LLP is the leading shareholder of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL), with shares worth $6.3 million. In addition, 10 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on the company as of Q2 2021, compared with 9 hedge funds in the previous quarter. The total value of these stakes is $18.3 million. Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) stands seventh on our list of the companies Bezos is investing in.
Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) is one of the companies that caught Bezos’ attention, just like Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER), Twitter, Inc. (NYSE:TWTR), Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB), Domo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DOMO), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG).
6. Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 19
Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG), an American aviation holding company, ranks sixth on our list of the companies Bezos is investing in. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) made an investment in the company in March 2021, in a deal valued at $135 million for 13.5 million shares. However, at the end of Q2 2021, Amazon held a $335 million stake in Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG), increasing its position by over 40%. The company also manages part of Amazon’s aviation operations.
Private Capital Management is one of the largest shareholders of Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG), with shares worth $17.5 million. In addition to this, 19 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey are reported to have positions in the company as of Q2, compared with 18 in the previous quarter. The total value of these stakes is over $66.2 million.
Like Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER), Twitter, Inc. (NYSE:TWTR), Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB), Domo, Inc. (NASDAQ:DOMO), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG) is one of the notable stocks to invest in.
Bernzott Capital Advisors mentioned Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG) in its Q2 2021 investor letter. Here is what the firm has to say:
“Air Transportation Services (ATSG): Demand for the company’s leased air freighters for time-definite transportation networks has been jumpstarted in recent years by e-commerce growth. The company’s order book is its strongest ever, with contract terms lengthening in some cases. This provides excellent long-term visibility with a more stable earnings profile than other transportation companies. The prospects for significant cash flow growth are bright. The company operates roughly half of Amazon’s freighters, and Amazon owns 19.5% of the company. DHL is also a significant, long-term customer. The Department of Defense is the company’s largest customer, as ATSG handles both passengers and freight for the military. This business, along with a smaller passenger charter operation, should stabilize in 2021 after pandemic-induced weakness, and shift to a tailwind in 2022. ATSG trades at just 7x EV/EBITDA and offers attractive upside potential.”
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Disclosure. None. Jeff Bezos Stock Portfolio: 10 Companies Bezos Is Investing In is originally published on Insider Monkey.
