Amazon avoids fine in deal with European antitrust regulators

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Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and European regulators reached a deal on Tuesday, according to an EU Commission statement.

According to a press release from the European Commission, Amazon has agreed to refrain from using non-public seller data to the benefit of its retail operations, apply non-discriminatory conditions and criteria for the selection of offers to appear in the Buy Box, and apply a number of changes to Prime policies. This includes commitments to protect third party logistics data and allow sellers to choose their courier service.

The agreements close two investigations into the Seattle-based tech giant pursued by the Commission. Amazon will be forced to implement the commitments by June 2023. The e-commerce and cloud leader could have faced fines equivalent to 10% of annual revenue.

“Today's decision sets the rules that Amazon will need to play by in the future instead of Amazon determining these rules for all players on its platform,” EU Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager said. “With these new rules, competing independent retailers, carriers and European customers will have more opportunities and choice.”

Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating on the stock ahead of the settlement. Equity analyst Justin Post said the agreement is “a modest positive, mitigating a potential stock overhang” for Amazon.

Read more on why Evercore sees Amazon as a “Buffett Buy”.