Investors have their choice of growth stocks these days, especially with a surge of interest in artificial intelligence (AI). But not all growth stocks are young tech start-ups. Some are established players that have dug wide moats around their businesses. And one of the best long-term growth stocks is a household name: Amazon (AMZN +0.55%).
The company continues to expand its revenue and earnings, maintains its enviable lead in e-commerce, and is even benefiting from the rise of AI. Here's why it's worth spending $1,000 to buy Amazon stock right now.
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E-commerce continues to rake in sales for Amazon
Amazon has been such a dominant leader in the e-commerce market for so many years that it can be easy to forget just how far ahead of the competition it really is. Amazon currently holds 38% of the U.S. e-commerce market, while its next-closest competitor, Walmart, has just over 6%. Amazon's ability to attract online customers, give them good customer service, and make their shopping experience relatively seamless is why the company has an estimated 180 million Prime members in the U.S. (and 220 million globally).
That huge pool of customers has led to continued e-commerce sales growth for Amazon, with North American revenue rising 8% in the most recent quarter to nearly $93 billion. And there's likely more growth coming. The company's management is guiding for sales to rise nearly 9% year over year in the second quarter to $161.5 billion, at the midpoint of guidance.
AI-related cloud computing will be huge
Most people probably don't think of Amazon as an AI company, but it's certainly benefiting from the surging need for artificial intelligence services. The company's Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the leading public cloud computing provider with 30% of the market, followed by Microsoft with 21%.
This means that companies of all shapes and sizes use AWS for its data center services, including AI-focused capabilities that help companies use and develop their own AI services. Amazon's lead in cloud computing is helping it tap into the AI cloud services market that Goldman Sachs estimates will be worth $2 trillion by 2030.
NASDAQ: AMZN
Key Data Points
To put Amazon's potential for AI into perspective, consider that in the first quarter of this year, Amazon's AWS operating income was $11.5 billion -- double the amount it earned from its North American e-commerce segment. To stay ahead of the competition, Amazon said it will increase its capital expenditures (capex) spending to $100 billion this year, with much of it going to AI infrastructure.
Advertising through Amazon is booming
And last, but certainly not least, is Amazon's huge advertising opportunity. While many companies are currently in a state of panic about how AI could upend their advertising revenue, Amazon is benefiting from integrating its ads into its e-commerce platform and video streaming services.
The result is ad sales of nearly $14 billion in the first quarter, a significant 18% increase from the year-ago quarter and the fastest revenue growth of any Amazon business. Management said on the first-quarter earnings call that the company's ad funnels allowed advertisers to reach 275 million people in the U.S. alone.
That's a massive audience that Amazon has access to, and the company's ability to sell ads across its expanding library of video streaming content and its e-commerce platform means that advertising could be a major growth area for Amazon for years to come.
While Amazon's valuation is up, the opportunity looms large
Amazon's stock isn't exactly cheap, with its price-to-earnings ratio of about 35, compared to the S&P 500's P/E ratio of 28. But the company's lead in cloud computing and e-commerce should continue to give Amazon a leg up over its competition.
What's more, with Amazon benefiting from the rise of AI and just beginning to tap into its advertising opportunities, the company has proved that it knows how to expand its offerings to drive new growth. If the company's past iterations and its current opportunities are any indicator, Amazon is still an ultimate growth stock worth buying now.
