Amazon (AMZN -1.64%) has changed a lot since its founding in 1994, going from an online bookstore to a market leader in e-commerce, cloud computing, and advertising.
Due to its incredible growth, the company has split its stock four times to make its shares more affordable to retail investors. Let's examine Amazon's stock-split history and whether the stock is a buy, sell, or hold.
Amazon's stock-split history
Since its initial public offering (IPO) in 1997, Amazon has split its stock four times, with the most recent one being a 20-for-1 split in 2022. So if you purchased one share of Amazon from its IPO and held, you would own 240 shares in 2025.
A stock split does not change your proportionate ownership of the company but rather increases the number of a company's outstanding shares while maintaining its market capitalization. So, to demonstrate Amazon's success, consider that if you held on to one share of Amazon at its IPO, your investment would be worth over $48,000, delivering over a 200,000% return.
| Month and Year | Event | Number of Shares |
|---|---|---|
| May 1997 | IPO | 1 |
| June 1998 | 2-for-1 stock split | 2 |
| January 1999 | 3-for-1 stock split | 6 |
| September 1999 | 2-for-1 stock split | 12 |
| June 2022 | 20-for-1 stock split | 240 |
Data source: Amazon. Chart by author
Is Amazon a buy before another potential stock split?
For long-term investors, the real lesson isn't how many shares you own -- it's picking great companies and holding on long term. If Amazon continues to innovate and expand, shareholders should benefit, no matter how many times the stock splits along the way.
The tech giant has had a compound annual revenue growth rate of 11% over the past three years. With its reported $100 billion investment in artificial intelligence for 2025, it may already have found its next growth driver.
Until Amazon shows it can no longer innovate, the stock remains a buy, especially when considering the stock trades near a three-year low valuation as shown below.
AMZN PE Ratio data by YCharts
