--- title: "Amazon (AMZN) Among the Grocers Facing a DOJ Beef Price Investigation" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/297821742.md" description: "The U.S. Department of Justice has expanded its antitrust investigation into soaring meat prices to include major retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Costco. The DOJ is requesting six years of data on beef purchasing strategies, pricing, and profit margins to understand supply chain dynamics. This move follows record-high ground beef prices and tight domestic cattle supplies, prompting government attention on food inflation." datetime: "2026-09-02T19:24:03.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/297821742.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/297821742.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/297821742.md) generator: "portal-rs" --- # Amazon (AMZN) Among the Grocers Facing a DOJ Beef Price Investigation Retail giant Amazon (AMZN) is one of the eight major U.S. grocers being asked to provide beef pricing information as the Justice Department expands its antitrust investigation into soaring meat prices. Walmart (WMT) and Costco (COST) also received requests. According to *Bloomberg*, the DOJ wants six years of information covering how retailers buy beef and set prices. The request comes as all uncooked ground beef averaged $7.116 per pound in July, which was 9.4% higher than a year earlier and remained close to a record high. The investigation originally focused on major meat processors. Earlier this year, the DOJ began examining possible antitrust violations in an industry where four large processors control more than 85% of U.S. beef processing. Now, the department is looking further down the supply chain to understand how prices change before beef reaches consumers. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward sent letters to the retailers in July. The DOJ wants details about their purchasing strategies and retail prices. It is also asking for information about profit margins and internal market analysis. Other companies that received letters include Albertsons (ACI) and Kroger (KR). Ahold Delhaize (AD) was also contacted. Privately held Publix and Aldi received requests as well. ## **High Beef Prices Are Drawing More Government Attention** The investigation comes as beef remains one of the bigger sources of food inflation for U.S. consumers. Domestic cattle supplies are also tight, with the U.S. cattle herd recently falling to its lowest level since the 1950s. As a result, President Donald Trump has already taken steps to increase supply. In August, he announced plans to allow as much as 300,000 metric tons of additional beef imports at lower tariff rates for 90 days. Walmart has also tried to address the issue directly. In July, the retailer said that it would lower prices on some seasonal products, which included beef. ## **Is AMZN Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?** Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on AMZN stock based on 39 Buys and one Hold assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average AMZN price target of $334.05 per share implies 30.9% upside potential. 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