Amazon (AMZN 2.61%) doesn't need an introduction, as I'm sure most readers are customers of the tech enterprise. Due to the company's outstanding success, it has made for a wonderful investment. But shares are still 33% below their all-time high, even after a huge gain in 2023.
So is this FAANG stock a buy, sell, or hold right now? Here's what investors need to know.
Amazon's multiple growth engines
A story written about Amazon would certainly have growth as the key topic. What's impressive about this tech giant is that its bread-and-butter segment, its e-commerce operations, isn't even the most exciting aspect about the company from an investment perspective. To be fair, online shopping is a secular trend that can continue to propel Amazon far into the future, a situation bolstered by the company's sprawling logistics footprint. But there are two other areas that investors should pay attention to.
This isn't a surprise, but Amazon Web Services (AWS) deserves a closer look. With 32% of the global cloud computing market by revenue, AWS is the dominant leader in the industry. Creating the capabilities to handle computing, storage, and analytics, for example, was once a major cost center for the overall company. But management saw the wide-open opportunity to start offering these services to other businesses out there.
AWS generated revenue of $22.1 billion in the latest quarter, which was up 12% year over year. That rate of growth is notably slower than investors are probably used to, but it's encouraging to see that it's still faster than Amazon as a whole. Moreover, AWS accounted for 70% of company operating income during the three-month period.
I'm sure many investors aren't familiar with Amazon's digital advertising capabilities. But by having an e-commerce site that had 3.2 billion visitors in the month of August, Amazon.com has truly unbelievable reach and attention. And this has made it a valuable source of advertising inventory, something Amazon has turned into a lucrative business line. Digital ad revenue increased 22% in the last quarter versus Q2 2022 to total $10.7 billion. This puts Amazon as a rapidly rising third place contender behind Alphabet and Meta Platforms in this industry.
As we look out over the next decade, it's safe to say that e-commerce, cloud computing, and online advertising all have strong growth prospects. And this can support further gains for Amazon.
NASDAQ: AMZN
Key Data Points
Reasons to buy and hold
Based on the attractive growth characteristics I've laid out above, Amazon should be a business on everyone's radar. Even more compelling is that the stock is currently significantly below its peak price, trading at a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 2.4. That valuation is cheaper than the stock's trailing five-year average P/S multiple. And as of Oct. 5, shares are 13% off from their 52-week high from Sept. 14. It looks like now is still a good time to buy this dominant enterprise.
For existing shareholders, the thought might occur to take some profits off the table, especially after Amazon's stock has risen so much this year alone. This is an understandable point of view. Maybe that cash can be allocated to a more intriguing opportunity. But these investors might still find it smart not to sell, simply because Amazon looks to be a solid buying opportunity right now.
An obvious reason to sell
If we look hard enough, we could find an important reason to sell as well. Amazon is currently in the middle of an antitrust battle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which argues that the tech company figured out stealth ways to charge higher prices for consumers while keeping merchants locked into its platform.
Because Amazon has such a powerful influence on consumers and enterprises across the world, it will always be in the crosshairs of regulatory agencies. Some might view this in a positive light, saying that it's a clear sign that this is one of the most successful businesses, while others could view this risk as too much to own the stock.
