Am I the only one that sees this as brilliant? First off, Whole Food's profit margin, while grocery-like, is miles ahead of AMZN's. Consider the markets that WFM operates in, and the overlap with Prime Now. And consider that AMZN probably feels the need to keep a check on WMT's encroachment into AMZN territory. Even if they never make a dime back on their purchase, the competitive barriers this erects for their primary competition would seem to make it worth every penny.
I imagine Bezos needed a brick and mortar infrastructure for his food delivery biz. WF has made some mistakes but they are known for quality and tasty foods which positions Bezos nicely in the space.
This was telegraphed for weeks. It's not just about bricks and mortar. This is a lot about the connected home and Alexa. Next will be mail order drugs - also well telegraphed.
Amazon Basically Just Bought Whole Foods for Nothing I also think it brilliant https://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2017/06/16/amazon-basically-just-bought-whole-foods-for-free/
If this was just a brick-and-mortar play, SHLD offers a MUCH better target. You value it generously at $2bn and take on their liabilities for about $1bn more than the WFM buy, but hundreds more locations deep within urban and suburban locations, with ready-made warehouses. Was looking around the grocery and TGT/WMT type stocks today, and it goes far beyond you and me thinking this is a good buy.
Mail order Pharma - they've already discussed it. I suspect it will be a build and a small technology buy.