Bank of America has maintained its Buy rating on Amazon.com Inc. with a price forecast of $310, implying approximately 30.5% upside from the stock's June 18 closing price of $237.50. The brokerage projects the upcoming Prime Day event will serve as a significant sales catalyst and a strategic platform to expand adoption of the company's AI-powered shopping assistant, Alexa for Shopping.

Prime Day Sales Outlook

The brokerage estimates Amazon's four-day Prime Day event, scheduled for June 23-26, will generate approximately $21.6 billion in gross merchandise volume (GMV), an increase of about 5% year over year. The firm anticipates first-party GMV to reach $11.6 billion, while third-party GMV is expected to total $10 billion.

AI Shopping Strategy

Analysts view the event as a critical opportunity to increase awareness and engagement with Alexa for Shopping. According to Amazon, the assistant generates personalized deals and product recommendations based on a customer's shopping history and preferences. It also allows users to view up to 365 days of price history, set price alerts, and enable automatic purchases when products reach target prices.

Bank of America said these features could improve customer engagement and conversion rates while protecting direct traffic to Amazon's retail platform. The brokerage estimates Alexa for Shopping could generate more than $200 billion in incremental GMV by 2035 and contribute more than $20 billion in additional retail profit over time.

Revenue Outlook

The firm expects Amazon to report second-quarter revenue at or above the high end of its $199 billion guidance, citing strong retail spending trends through May and continued momentum at Amazon Web Services. Prime Day is projected to contribute roughly $8.5 billion in incremental revenue during the quarter.

Long-Term Growth Drivers

Prime Day remains an important branding event that reinforces the value of Amazon Prime and helps the company gain online retail market share. While promotional activity could pressure margins, analysts believe Amazon can offset these costs through logistics efficiencies and stronger advertising revenue during the event.

Stock Performance

Amazon shares have gained an average of 2.2% in the week following Prime Day over the past five years. At the time of publication, Amazon.com stock was up 3.38% at $245.52.

Amazon.com Inc. is reportedly piloting a new system, Full Facility Load Balancing (FFLB), designed to optimize human movement within its robot-filled warehouses. The initiative aims to save millions in labor costs and reduce almost 7 million labor hours each year, according to internal studies cited by a Business Insider report on Thursday. The projected savings are based on modeling assumptions rather than individual worker productivity data.

The FFLB system automatically reassigns workers based on fluctuating package volumes and workloads. It updates staffing needs every three minutes and recommends relocating workers to balance overstaffed and understaffed areas. Amazon plans to roll out FFLB across its Amazon Robotic Sortable (ARS) facilities this year, where humans and robots work together to fulfill customer orders. The company stated the system is designed to help managers respond to changing warehouse conditions rather than replace them.

Automation Overhaul

This pilot follows a series of changes in Amazon's robotics strategy. In February, Amazon discontinued its warehouse robot, Blue Jay, due to high costs and implementation issues, though it planned to incorporate parts of Blue Jay's technology into future systems. Later that month, Amazon acquired New York-based Fauna Robotics, which developed a 42-inch humanoid robot, Sprout, capable of walking, interacting with people, gripping objects, and performing simple tasks.

Workforce Impact

Amazon has been reducing roles amid its automation push. In March, the company laid off at least 100 white-collar employees in its robotics organization. Internal documents previously indicated that increased reliance on robots could eliminate the need to hire about 160,000 workers by 2027. This shift could help Amazon cut costs, with estimates showing savings of roughly 30 cents per item purchased and delivered, while further improving warehouse efficiency.