There are many ways to approach investing.

Warren Buffett and his followers like to take a value-focused approach. But this isn't the only way to be successful in the stock market.

Another strategy is to look at growth stocks -- shares of businesses whose metrics are rapidly rising with each passing year. Even a $1,000 investment can grow to immense wealth over long periods of time with such stocks. A company such as Amazon (AMZN -0.24%) falls into this category.

If you have $1,000 to invest, this tech behemoth would likely make for a smart addition to your portfolio. Here's why.

Fundamental improvements

Like most other businesses, Amazon was dealing with a slowdown last year, thanks primarily to an uncertain economic backdrop. Rapidly rising interest rates and stubborn inflation pressured consumer spending and led enterprises to cut IT costs, both of which negatively impacted Amazon.

The company's sales were up just 9.4% in 2022, a much slower pace of change than the 21.7% gain posted in 2021.

However, the data from the third quarter data shows that things are picking back up. Revenue totaled $143.1 billion during the three-month period, up 12.6% year over year. This marked the third straight quarter that sales growth accelerated. It could be a clear sign that the worst is behind us now, and that Amazon will see its gains start to benefit from strong momentum.

There are also obvious improvements to Amazon's bottom line. Operating income more than quadrupled in Q3 compared to the year-ago period.

This year, Amazon has made it a focus to undergo major cost cuts and other efficiency-driving measures to rightsize its operations. This was perhaps necessary, following outsize capital investments made during the pandemic-fueled boom in demand.

Take a look at Amazon's massive logistics footprint. "Our move earlier this year from a single national fulfillment network in the U.S. to eight distinct regions represented one of the most significant changes to our fulfillment network in our history," CEO Andy Jassy highlighted on the Q3 2023 earnings call.

The results so far have been fantastic. Amazon highlighted having fewer inventory touch points and shorter distances to delivery, leading to lower costs and faster shipments to customers. It seems like a winning strategy.

For the current quarter, executives forecast revenue growth of between 7% and 12%, which would be healthy. A particularly strong holiday shopping period in the U.S. can provide an added boost.

Multiple advantages

Long-term investors should try to identify any notable advantages that a business might have that allows it to outcompete rivals in the industry. Capitalism breeds intense competition, so it's essential to find companies that are well positioned to defend themselves.

Amazon absolutely shines in this regard. I can find two distinct advantages that give me confidence in this business and its staying power.

Let's go back to the company's logistics network. The sheer scale of this operation is exemplified by the fact that Amazon delivers more packages than UPS or FedEx.

This shows just how difficult it would be for any subscale e-commerce platform to successfully compete with Amazon's well-oiled machine. Amazon possesses the technological and physical infrastructure to more cost-effectively deliver packages, while providing consumers with the best possible experience.

Another advantage Amazon has comes from the massive amounts of data that this business is able to collect from its customer base. This includes individuals and merchants on the e-commerce site, as well as enterprise-level and government clients at Amazon Web Services, the cloud division.

As the world continues to become increasingly digital, data is the new oil. However, data is a commodity that is seemingly infinite. And businesses that are better able to harness the data they collect in a safe and compliant way can utilize this advantage to improve products and services and better serve customers. And these companies will be the long-term winners.

So, a $1,000 investment in this FAANG stock right now looks like a smart move.