Amazon’s growing India business alone is likely worth more than Macy’s

Dhiraj Singh | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Employees prepare packages for shipment on the conveyor belt at the Amazon.com fulfillment center in Hyderabad, India.

Amazon will thrive in India even after Walmart’s acquisition of the e-commerce market leader in the South Asian country, according to one Wall Street firm.

Citi Research reiterated its buy rating for Amazon shares, predicting strong growth for its international businesses.

Last week Walmart announced that it would acquire an initial stake of about 77 percent in Flipkart, the number one e-commerce company in India, for $16 billion.

“We believe the India e-commerce market will grow at a 21% CAGR over the next 10 years to $202bn, that Amazon could capture 35% of this market … That suggests that Amazon India could be currently worth $16bn,” analyst Mark May said in a note to clients Thursday. “In short, not only do we believe that investors continue to under-estimate the value of Amazon’s existing Emerging International Retail Markets businesses, but also the pace and value of its recent international expansion efforts.”

At a valuation of $16 billion, that makes the business worth more than 170 companies in the S&P 500 including Clorox, Macy’s and Tiffany & Co.

May reiterated his $1,900 price target for Amazon shares, representing 20 percent upside to Thursday’s close.

India is the second largest country in the world with 1.3 billion people. The analyst noted Amazon has committed to spend $5 billion to build its business in India.

“Amazon’s investments in India have been consistent with a strategy for long-term success,” he said. “For instance, the company has aggressively built out its distribution network to service the third-party sellers and customers it serves in the market.”