The S&P 500 is trapped in a nasty earnings recession. Earnings have now declined for five consecutive quarters. The last time that happened was during the financial crisis in 2009. In the elusive quest for earnings growth, more companies are turning to a controversial strategy: replacing humans with robots to help cut costs and increase productivity. #-ad_banner-#For example, Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) has more than 30,000 Kiva Robots buzzing around its global network of warehouses. According to Dave Clark, Amazon’s SVP of Worldwide Operations and Customer Service, the robots helped reduce operating expenses by 20%. Just five years ago, those tasks… Read More
The S&P 500 is trapped in a nasty earnings recession. Earnings have now declined for five consecutive quarters. The last time that happened was during the financial crisis in 2009. In the elusive quest for earnings growth, more companies are turning to a controversial strategy: replacing humans with robots to help cut costs and increase productivity. #-ad_banner-#For example, Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) has more than 30,000 Kiva Robots buzzing around its global network of warehouses. According to Dave Clark, Amazon’s SVP of Worldwide Operations and Customer Service, the robots helped reduce operating expenses by 20%. Just five years ago, those tasks were being performed by people. Deutsche Bank estimates that adding a fleet of robots to a new warehouse saves $22 million in fulfillment expenses. Other S&P 500 companies are following Amazon’s lead. Drug store leader CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) has replaced cashiers with self-checkout kiosks in most of its stores. Fast food leaders McDonalds (NYSE: MCD) and Pizza Hut are experimenting with replacing human labor with automated machinery in their restaurants. As Amazon, CVS, McDonalds and Pizza Hut demonstrate, robots can have a huge impact on a company’s profitability. Not only do they have the ability to operate 24/7, robots… Read More