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Editor’s Note: We’re now in the dog days of summer… a time when markets are more volatile than usual. 

(Fun fact, it became known as “dog days” because, back in the day, the hottest days of the season were when the Canis Major constellation – the Greater Dog – was visible in the night sky.)

But here at the Freeport Society, we don’t shy away from volatility (or summer heat). We embrace it because we know that this Age of Chaos contains countless opportunities to grow your wealth.

Legendary global macro investor Eric Fry agrees with us. He’s been turning volatility to his favor for decades… finding more than 41 winning stocks that have gone on to soar 1,000% or more. 

Part of his success is knowing which stocks to buy and which ones to sell. 

Today, he shares with us what his “Buy This, Sell That” signal has to say about much loved Amazon (AMZN). (This video explains this signal in detail.)

The company went public on May 15, 1997. Since then, through compound growth, several stock splits, and all the chaos, the stock has gone up more than 250,000%.

In just the last year, since its recent 52-week low last August, the stock is up about 60%.

Yet the consensus among analysts is that it’s a strong buy, even at these prices. Investment research firm Zacks says the average brokerage recommendation based on 55 analysts is 1.15. A score of 1 is considered a strong buy.

Even fintech Visible Alpha reports that 26 out of 26 analysts give the stock a “buy” rating.

There are virtually no current sell ratings across the analyst board.

Are all of these mainstream analysts right?

Eric believes not. 

He explains why below.

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Why I’m Saying “Sell” Amazon and What to Buy Instead

By Eric Fry, Senior Analyst, InvestorPlace

Volatility. Uncertainty, Complexity. Ambiguity.

VUCA

An acronym that the U.S. Army War College created in the 1980s to describe the post-Cold War international environment.

Today, it perfectly describes the financial environment.

Two giant economic forces are slamming into the U.S. stock market simultaneously…

We are living in the fastest rate of technological change humankind has ever experienced, with artificial intelligence threatening to make our world unrecognizable in just a few years… 

And trade relationships and peace deals are hanging on by a fraying thread. If that thread breaks, it will unleash an unrelenting and painful era of chaos. 

Volatility? Check.

Uncertainty? Check.

Complexity and ambiguity? Check and check.

This means that knowing which companies to run from and which to run toward will become more difficult than ever.

But not impossible. 

So, today let’s consider why many of the companies poised to potentially fail are some household names you are already familiar with – and maybe even own. 

Then, I’ll share how you can find the lesser-known and highly misunderstood stocks that I recommend instead…

And how you can “buy Amazon like it’s 2005”… in 2025. 

The Writing on the Factory Wall

Let’s take a quick trip to 2122 Broening Highway in Baltimore, Maryland. 

The industrial Baltimore property pictured below hosts a one-million-square-foot Amazon distribution center.

However, it was once home to a sprawling factory owned by a business many believed was too big, too iconic, and too “All-American” to fail: General Motors (GM).

When the old GM plant opened in 1935, the state-of-the-art facility covered 40 football fields and included test tracks for new cars and rail lines to transport vehicles to market. 

Nearly 7,000 people worked there at its peak. 

But eventually, this formerly cutting-edge plant became obsolete. In 2005, it was razed to the ground… just a few years before General Motors filed for bankruptcy.

When the GM plant shut down, 1,100 employees lost their jobs. The event shocked investors and long-time employees.  

But I saw the writing on the wall well in advance.  

While two-thirds of the analysts on Wall Street were rating the stock a “Buy” or a “Hold,” I knew it was going to fail… months before the plant closed down.

GM wasn’t so much a car company anymore as it was a house of cards, propped up by wishful accounting. 

And despite Wall Street’s optimism, I knew we would soon see GM run out of cash.   

So, I doubled down and called GM a “Strong Sell.”

Sure enough, the unraveling I predicted came to pass: On June 1st, 2009, General Motors disintegrated in what Forbes referred to as, “The most important bankruptcy in U.S. history.”

More importantly, when I recommended selling General Motors in 2005, I also recommended buying Metal Management, a large metal recycling company.

Today, the company is known as Sims Metal. It’s one of the largest full-service metal recyclers in the country – with 53 locations.

At the time I recommended it, most people had never heard of Metal Management. 

Unlike GM, this company was not an American icon. It didn’t build cars. It crushed them for scrap metal on dirt lots. However, steel prices were soaring, which made Metal Management extremely profitable. 

And sure enough, as GM tumbled more than 50% on its way to bankruptcy… Metal Management nearly doubled in price.  

Like I said, it’s as important to know which companies to run from as it is to know which to run toward.

This leads me back to Amazon…

Sell That, Buy This

General Motors and Amazon (AMZN) have more in common than a shared history at 2122 Broening Highway. 

Like GM, Amazon has been the stock to own for many years. I even recommended it to my Fry’s Investment Report subscribers in February 2023.

However, Amazon is going to be one of the prime (no pun intended) victims of the current administration’s trade war. 

Up to 70% of what you see on Amazon comes from China. Tariffs on those goods means that Amazon could lose its competitive edge entirely. 

Plus, Amazon’s cloud service division has missed analyst expectations for three-straight quarters. 

That’s the part of Amazon’s business that they consider to be their “growth driver.”  

That is why CEO Jeff Bezos is panic-pumping $100 billion into this lagging part of their business. 

Like General Motors, I was dubious of Wall Street’s optimism about the tech giant’s profit growth. 

So, I recommended that my Fry’s Investment Report subscribers sell the company in October 2024, while pocketing a nice triple-digit gain.

I maintain this viewpoint to this day.

But there is a company I suggest turning toward…

It’s a virtually unknown, fast-growing online retailer that could be like buying Amazon twenty years ago, but with an even bigger competitive advantage.

Projections are showing that it could become 700% more profitable by 2027. 

I put all of the details of this under-the-radar company in my brand-new, free special broadcast. 

I also share stocks I believe every investor should buy now – and what stocks everyone should drop immediately. 

Click here to watch my special broadcast now. 

Regards, 

Eric Fry

Senior Analyst, InvestorPlace