Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN), headquartered in Seattle, Washington, is the world's largest online retailer and marketplace. The company engages in the retail sale of consumer products, advertising, and subscription services through online and physical stores. With a market cap of $2.6 trillion, its products include books, music, computers, electronics, and numerous other products. Amazon offers personalized shopping services, web-based credit card payment, and direct shipping to customers. It also operates a cloud platform offering services globally.
Shares of this online retail behemoth have underperformed the broader market over the past year. AMZN has gained 1.5% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has rallied nearly 13.9%. However, in 2026, AMZN stock is up 3.3%, surpassing the SPX’s 1.5% rise on a YTD basis.
Narrowing the focus, AMZN has also lagged behind the ProShares Online Retail ETF (ONLN). The exchange-traded fund has gained about 27.7% over the past year. Moreover, the ETF’s 5% gains on a YTD basis outshine the stock’s returns over the same time frame.
AMZN's underperformance is driven by concerns over AI investment returns and AWS growth, with heavy CapEx on AI and infrastructure weighing on earnings. Intensifying competition in e-commerce and cloud computing, plus potential headwinds from third-party AI agents, are adding to growth concerns.
On Oct. 30, 2025, AMZN reported its Q3 results, and its shares closed up by 9.6% in the following trading session. Its EPS of $1.95 topped Wall Street expectations of $1.58. The company’s revenue was $180.2 billion, surpassing Wall Street forecasts of $177.9 billion. For Q4, AMZN expects revenue in the range of $206 billion to $213 billion.
For the current fiscal year, ended in December 2025, analysts expect AMZN’s EPS to grow 29.7% to $7.17 on a diluted basis. The company’s earnings surprise history is impressive. It beat the consensus estimate in each of the last four quarters.
Among the 57 analysts covering AMZN stock, the consensus is a “Strong Buy.” That’s based on 50 “Strong Buy” ratings, five “Moderate Buys,” and two “Holds.”
This configuration is less bullish than a month ago, with 51 analysts suggesting a “Strong Buy.”
On Jan. 26, Rohit Kulkarni from Roth MKM maintained a “Buy” rating on AMZN with a price target of $295, implying a potential upside of 23.7% from current levels.
The mean price target of $295.07 represents a 23.8% premium to AMZN’s current price levels. The Street-high price target of $360 suggests an ambitious upside potential of 51%.
On the date of publication, Neha Panjwani did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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