FTC asks Amazon, Walmart, others about how they’re handling supply-chain issues

Paul Ziobro, Tarini Parti

The Federal Trade Commission is seeking information from Amazon.com Inc. /zigman2/quotes/210331248/composite AMZN +3.04% , Procter & Gamble Co. /zigman2/quotes/202894679/composite PG -0.41% , Walmart Inc. /zigman2/quotes/207374728/composite WMT +0.77%  and others about how they are handling supply-chain snarls, part of a study into whether the problems have led to anticompetitive behavior and higher prices.

The document request isn’t part of any law-enforcement action, the FTC said in a press release. Instead, the agency said it is looking to understand the reasons behind the widespread supply-chain problems that have crimped economic growth.

The agency is also seeking documents and information from Kroger Co. /zigman2/quotes/206215053/composite KR +1.33% ,  C&S Wholesale Grocers Inc., Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc., McLane Co., Tyson Foods Inc. /zigman2/quotes/201117502/composite TSN +0.35% , and Kraft Heinz Co. /zigman2/quotes/203625533/composite KHC +0.08% .  The companies have 45 days to respond.

The order will require the companies to detail how they are navigating the supply- chain crisis, including how it has affected the availability of transportation, delayed orders and led to increased prices. The FTC also wants to know what companies are doing to fix the problems and how they allocate products among stores when products are scarce.

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Amazon.com Inc.

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

$ 102.24

+3.02 +3.04%

Volume: 87.78M

Jan. 27, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

93.88

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$1043.02 billion

Rev. per Employee

$312,308

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Procter & Gamble Co.

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 140.57

-0.58 -0.41%

Volume: 6.87M

Jan. 27, 2023 4:03p

P/E Ratio

24.69

Dividend Yield

2.60%

Market Cap

$331.62 billion

Rev. per Employee

$757,368

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Walmart Inc.

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 143.30

+1.09 +0.77%

Volume: 6.14M

Jan. 27, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

44.29

Dividend Yield

1.56%

Market Cap

$386.45 billion

Rev. per Employee

$260,918

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Kroger Co.

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 45.05

+0.59 +1.33%

Volume: 3.67M

Jan. 27, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

14.10

Dividend Yield

2.31%

Market Cap

$32.25 billion

Rev. per Employee

$348,771

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Tyson Foods Inc. Cl A

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 65.72

+0.23 +0.35%

Volume: 2.70M

Jan. 27, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

7.23

Dividend Yield

2.92%

Market Cap

$23.06 billion

Rev. per Employee

$375,225

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Kraft Heinz Co.

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

$ 39.69

+0.03 +0.08%

Volume: 5.22M

Jan. 27, 2023 4:00p

P/E Ratio

40.36

Dividend Yield

4.03%

Market Cap

$48.62 billion

Rev. per Employee

$717,000