AnalystScope
AnalystScopePublished research note

Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)

Amazon continues to compound through AWS, advertising, and retail efficiency gains, with margin expansion still not fully reflected in current valuation assumptions.

This page preserves the published note at the report date shown below. For the live workspace with the latest price context, filing updates, refreshed normalized statements, and current model output, return to the company page.

Report date 29 Mar 2026, 10:39Last updated Mar 15, 2026Active coverage
Latest analyst action: New
Latest published rating: Buy

Live reference context

These cards show the latest live reference data beside the published note. The written note and published rating remain anchored to the report date above.

Current model signal

Sell

Confidence

Low

Current price

$210

Latest analyst action

New

Mar 15, 2026

Latest published rating

Buy

Mar 15, 2026

Fair value

$149

Upside / Downside

-28.9 downside

Model vs published view

Current model signal differs from the latest published analyst rating.

Live current-price moves may be widening the gap versus the latest published view.

Current price data

Alpha Vantage GLOBAL_QUOTE

Last refreshed Apr 4, 2026, 3:58 AM UTC. Stale after Apr 4, 2026, 4:03 AM UTC.

Latest filing / report

4 filed Apr 3, 2026 | Reporting period Apr 1, 2026

Last refreshed Apr 3, 2026, 11:28 PM UTC. Stale after Apr 4, 2026, 11:28 AM UTC.

Open filing source

Reported fundamentals

SEC XBRL companyfacts API

Live SEC companyfacts currently cover revenue, operating margin, free cash flow, and net cash / net debt. Reporting period end 2025-12-31.

Last refreshed 4 Apr 2026, 03:58 UTC. Stale after 4 Apr 2026, 15:58 UTC.

Analyst summary

Amazon continues to compound through AWS, advertising, and retail efficiency gains, with margin expansion still not fully reflected in current valuation assumptions.

Why this view

  • Valuation implies 28.9% downside versus fair value.
  • Operating trends show +12.4% revenue growth with 11.2% operating margin.
  • Cash-flow quality shows 1.1% FCF margin.
  • Balance sheet remains net cash positive at $54.6B, equal to 7.6% of revenue.

What to watch

Whether AWS demand normalizes into a steadier growth pattern rather than a choppier recovery.

Thesis scorecard

Lightweight qualitative scorecard across the core dimensions shaping the current investment view.

Growth

Moderate

AWS and advertising support growth, though the pace is less linear than prior cycles.

Profitability

Moderate

Margins are improving, but retail mix still caps consolidated profitability.

Balance sheet

Moderate

Leverage is manageable, though less conservative than other mega-cap peers.

Valuation

Strong

The current setup still leaves room for margin normalization upside.

Execution / Resilience

Moderate

Execution is improving, but retail complexity keeps resilience more mixed.

Bull / Base / Bear scenarios

Bull case value

$176

Stronger execution and valuation support than the base case.

Base case value

$149

This is the main recommendation anchor used on the public company page.

Bear case value

$119

Weaker assumptions or lower multiple support than the base case.

Base-case assumptions

These are the published base-case assumptions behind the note. They are reasoned valuation inputs at the report date, not reported facts, and the note under each number explains why that level was used in the base case.

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

9.5%

±1.0% => ±$13/sh

Why this level: This is AnalystScope's base-case growth assumption, not a guarantee. It sits below the latest normalized FY revenue pace (2025.0%), so the model does not extend current strength too far into the outer years. Current company context: AWS remains the core valuation driver and the largest source of incremental profit growth.

Terminal Growth

3.0%

±0.5% => ±$11/sh

Why this level: This is AnalystScope's mature long-run growth assumption, not a perpetual hypergrowth claim. At 3.0%, it sits well below the 9.5% five-year revenue CAGR, so the model steps down from the explicit forecast period to a steadier long-run pace. For Amazon.com, Inc., that means a durable franchise can keep compounding after year five without assuming today's faster growth profile lasts indefinitely.

WACC

8.7%

±0.5% => ∓$15/sh

Why this level: This is AnalystScope's base-case cost-of-capital judgment, not a precise CAPM output. It reflects the current rates backdrop, equity risk premium, and the company's balance-sheet posture. Leverage manageable against AWS cash flow

Operating Margin (Year 5)

11.5%

±100 bps => ±$10/sh

Why this level: This is AnalystScope's base-case margin view, not a promise of straight-line expansion. It keeps year-five margins close to today's normalized operating margin (11.2%), which implies the current margin structure is broadly durable. Margin input adjusts for retail mix volatility and uses a steadier AWS margin path.

How to read the assumptions and sensitivities

These are base-case assumptions used to estimate fair value. They are reasonable model inputs, not reported facts.

Each sensitivity line shows the estimated fair-value-per-share change from a small move in that one input while the other inputs stay fixed.

bps means basis points. 100 bps equals 1.00 percentage point.

WACC sensitivity moves in the opposite direction because a higher discount rate lowers present value, while a lower discount rate raises it.

Model inputs vs reported fundamentals

Side-by-side view of the live reported fundamentals versus the latest normalized annual inputs still used in the current public analysis model.

Reported fundamentals source

SEC XBRL companyfacts API

Live SEC companyfacts currently cover revenue, operating margin, free cash flow, and net cash / net debt. Reporting period end 2025-12-31.

Last refreshed 4 Apr 2026, 03:58 UTC. Stale after 4 Apr 2026, 15:58 UTC.

Normalization impact on the thesis

Amazon's normalization choices smooth retail and AWS volatility, making the thesis rely more on structural cash-flow and margin improvement than on noisy reported quarters.

MetricReportedStatusModel inputStatus
Revenue (TTM)$716.9BLive reported$716.9B

+12.4% YoY

Adjustment: Model revenue smooths retail calendar effects and the AWS optimization-to-reacceleration transition.

Model / normalized
Operating Margin11.2%Live reported11.2%

+40 bps YoY

Adjustment: Margin input adjusts for retail mix volatility and uses a steadier AWS margin path.

Model / normalized
FCF (TTM)$7.7BLive reported$7.9B

1.1% margin

Adjustment: FCF input cleans up lease, capex, and working-capital timing effects in the reported cash flows.

Model / normalized
Net Cash / (Debt)$18.4BLive reported$54.6B

Leverage manageable against AWS cash flow

Adjustment: Balance-sheet treatment reflects debt and lease obligations conservatively against available cash.

Model / normalized

Why this rating

Shares currently trade at $210 versus a base-case fair value of $149, implying -28.9 downside. That supports a Sell rating with Low confidence under the current model.

Fair value $149 vs. current $210 (-28.9 downside).

Current price

$210

Fair value

$149

Upside / Downside

-28.9 downside

Model signal / Confidence

Sell / Low

Confidence framing

Method agreement / dispersion

Valuation methods show a wider range from $42 to $265, which tempers conviction.

Margin strength

Operating margin is 11.2%, with +40 bps vs prior FY.

Balance sheet position

Balance sheet positioning remains net cash positive at $54.6B, with leverage manageable against aws cash flow.

Valuation breakdown

Method nameImplied valueWeight
DCF (Base)$4250%
NTM EBIT Multiple$26530%
EV/EBITDA Cross-check$24320%

Key drivers

AWS remains the core valuation driver and the largest source of incremental profit growth.

Advertising and retail efficiency gains continue to improve consolidated margins.

Scale advantages still support long-duration reinvestment and share capture.

Key risks

AWS growth could soften if enterprise optimization persists longer than expected.

Retail margin gains may prove less durable if fulfillment or wage costs reaccelerate.

Execution missteps in a lower-margin retail mix would pressure consolidated returns.

What would change our view

Stronger AWS backlog conversion would improve the current fair value range.

A stall in retail efficiency gains would reduce confidence in the margin story.

More durable advertising contribution would make the upside case more compelling.

Near-term catalysts

AWS backlog conversion and margin commentary remain the key near-term catalysts.

Retail fulfillment efficiency and advertising growth updates can move the earnings bridge quickly.

Any shift in capital intensity expectations could alter the market's valuation framework.

What we are watching

Whether AWS demand normalizes into a steadier growth pattern rather than a choppier recovery.

How much of the current retail margin improvement is structural versus cyclical.

Whether advertising keeps becoming a larger, more dependable contributor to group profitability.

Coverage metadata

Last updated

Mar 15, 2026

Coverage status

Active coverage

Latest analyst action

New

Mar 15, 2026

Latest published rating

Buy

Mar 15, 2026

Analyst note

Tracking AWS backlog conversion, retail efficiency gains, and the contribution from advertising.

Model vs published view

Current model signal differs from the latest published analyst rating.

Live current-price moves may be widening the gap versus the latest published view.

Current price source

Alpha Vantage GLOBAL_QUOTE

Last refreshed Apr 4, 2026, 3:58 AM UTC. Stale after Apr 4, 2026, 4:03 AM UTC.

Reported fundamentals source

SEC XBRL companyfacts API

Live SEC companyfacts currently cover revenue, operating margin, free cash flow, and net cash / net debt. Reporting period end 2025-12-31.

Last refreshed 4 Apr 2026, 03:58 UTC. Stale after 4 Apr 2026, 15:58 UTC.

Latest filing source

SEC EDGAR submissions API

4 filed Apr 3, 2026 | Reporting period Apr 1, 2026

Last refreshed Apr 3, 2026, 11:28 PM UTC. Stale after Apr 4, 2026, 11:28 AM UTC.

Open filing source

Coverage timeline

Timeline entries reflect published analyst actions and ratings. The current model signal is shown separately above.

Mar 15, 2026

NewBuy

Initiated coverage with a Buy view on AWS and retail margin normalization.

AnalystScope

This report is informational only and does not constitute investment advice. Curated public preview analysis with live price, filing metadata, and reported fundamentals overlays. Full live filing ingestion is not yet enabled.

Report snapshot

Version: coverage-snapshot-v2-static-20260329t103939225z

Source: static

Coverage status: Coverage is currently limited to ten companies: MSFT, NVDA, AAPL, GOOGL, AMZN, META, AVGO, ORCL, AMD, and NFLX.