Declan McCulla/CNET
Amazon announced Wednesday that its board of directors approved a 20-for-1 stock split and allowed $10 billion in buybacks of the online retailer’s shares, sending shares up more than 6% in after-hours trading.
The split doesn’t necessarily change the value of the company, but an Amazon spokesperson said the revised stock price would make the shares more accessible to potential investors and give employees more flexibility in how they manage their shares in the company.
The stock split, the first for Amazon since 1999, will give registered shareholders as of May 27 an additional 19 shares for each share they already own. Trading at the revised share price is expected to begin on June 6.
Amazon stock closed Wednesday at $2,785.58, up 2.4%. Following the news of the stock split, shares rose 6.5% in after-hours trading.
Amazon is the latest high-value tech company to announce a stock split. Google Parent Alphabet announces a 20-for-1 split In February, Apple announced a 4-for-1 stock split in 2020.
The stock split is subject to shareholder approval at Amazon’s annual shareholder meeting on May 25.
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