'Major' Amazon case by FTC likely 'misunderstands' tech giant's success: Baird
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Amid speculation that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is set to file a far-reaching antitrust lawsuit against Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) in short order, investment firm Baird said a "major" case against the U.S. tech giant likely "misunderstands" its success.
Analyst Colin Sebastian said a potential case brought forth by FTC Commissioner Lina Khan, who became famous for her 2017 paper, Amazon's Antitrust Paradox, seems to miss the fact that Amazon (AMZN) is in a number of competitive markets, including cloud computing, which Sebastian described as "fiercely competitive," as well as e-commerce, grocery, smart devices and streaming, to name a few.
If the FTC were to go after Amazon (AMZN) over concerns about pricing strategies, vertical integration and potentially misusing data, with the goal a potential breakup of the company, it likely would not pass the muster. 
"We believe Amazon's successes are based primarily on unique vision, keen investments, and a strong engineering orientation," Sebastian wrote in an investor note. "In contrast to Commissioner Kahn's views, we don't believe it's credible to explain Amazonâs many successes through anti-competitive behavior." 
"Instead, it's much more likely that Amazon achieved market share primarily through novel strategies and innovations that were once viewed as highly speculative, but ultimately improved services for consumers, and effectively increased competition in stagnant retail and technology markets," Sebastian continued.
"In effect, the market worked as it should."
Sebastian speculated that Khan's ultimate goal would be to break up Amazon Retail, Marketplace/Logistics and Cloud computing, which would be a "fundamental change" in anti-trust precedent.
If that were to happen, it could be a negative for other big tech companies, including Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) Search, Sebastian suggested.
However, if Khan were to go after Amazon (AMZN) in a narrower scope, perhaps citing instances of anti-competitive behavior, this could be more successful, Sebastian posited.
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