Everybody knows Amazon (AMZN 0.52%). It is one of the largest companies in the world, landing a top 5 spot whether you measure by revenue, market cap, or the number of employees.
As big as it already is, Amazon is still growing like ragweed in the fall. The compound average growth rate (CAGR) for Amazon's top line stands between 25.6% and 28.1% over the last three, five, and 10 years:
AMZN Revenue (TTM) data by YCharts
But how well do you really know this complex and multifaceted business titan?
What started as an online bookstore in Jeff Bezos' garage soon widened its scope to other e-commerce products. For example, the Amazon Web Services division was originally just an attempt to monetize unused capacity in Amazon's server farms. Now, this sector-defining cloud computing platform is one of Amazon's largest operations and also the most profitable business under its roof.
The story won't end there. Amazon is always exploring new moneymaking ideas at a breathtaking pace. Many companies would sell their proverbial mothers for an operation generating sales of $1.26 billion per year with a 164% year-over-year growth rate. But for Amazon, that's just the stuff that fell through the cracks between six much larger revenue streams, modestly labeled as "Other":
Image source: The Motley Fool, based on data from Amazon's SEC filings.
And that's what Amazon can do in an off year, under the weight of inflationary pressure and tough year-over-year comparisons against the strongest e-commerce and cloud computing growth of the COVID-19 pandemic. This report was so disappointing, Amazon's stock price fell 25.4% over the next two weeks, erasing $233 billion of its market cap.
Now imagine what Amazon's sprawling business empire might do in a healthy economy. The stock has been spring-loaded by a year-to-date price drop of 45%. Mr. Market has reasons for sending Amazon's stock to the bargain bin, but the recent concerns are temporary, while the company's soaring revenue growth is persistent. That impressive sales chart you saw earlier has always looked good, all the way back to the mid-1990s.
So the stock is primed to rebound from the low prices you see today. Maybe not next month or next year, but you can bet that the company will keep chipping away at its future growth initiatives while the global economy finds its sea legs again.
You probably want to have some of these shares in your portfolio when Amazon turns on its cash machine again. Have another look at those juicy revenue streams while you're prepping that trusty "buy" button for Amazon.
