Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Stock Price Up 15.3% on Strong Earnings

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) shares shot up 15.3% during mid-day trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $273.23 and last traded at $271.58. Approximately 128,419,627 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 157% from the average session volume of 49,951,809 shares. The stock had previously closed at $235.50.

The e-commerce giant reported $5.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $3.93. The company had revenue of $200.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.03 billion. Amazon.com had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 19.92%. Amazon.com’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.68 earnings per share.

Key Stories Impacting Amazon.com

Here are the key news stories impacting Amazon.com this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AWS growth reaccelerated: Amazon Web Services revenue rose 36.7% year over year to approximately $42.2 billion, its fastest growth in 18 quarters. Strong enterprise AI demand, including arrangements with Meta and OpenAI, helped ease concerns that heavy AI spending would not produce adequate returns. Amazon jumps as AWS growth soothes fears over rising AI spending
• Positive Sentiment: Broad earnings beat: Revenue increased about 20% to $200.6 billion, exceeding expectations, while reported EPS of $5.75 was well above consensus. Operating income rose more than 40%, advertising revenue climbed 26% to nearly $20 billion, and North American sales benefited from solid consumer demand. Amazon.com Announces Second Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: AI monetization and capacity visibility improved: Management cited striking demand extending into 2028, growing use of custom AI chips and AI agents, and a large AWS backlog. Analysts responded by raising targets, including JPMorgan’s $365 and Benchmark’s $400 targets. Amazon’s AI Bet Wins Big
• Positive Sentiment: Additional growth initiatives: Amazon completed its planned $50 billion investment in OpenAI, expanded robotics to improve fulfillment efficiency, and received regulatory clearance for Amazon-owned Zoox to begin paid robotaxi rides. Amazon Completes $50 Billion Investment in OpenAI

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $375.00 target price (up from $335.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $320.00 price target (down from $330.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $319.00 price target on Amazon.com and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Amazon.com from $332.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Fifty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $321.40.

Insider Activity

In other Amazon.com news, CEO Andrew R. Jassy sold 31,352 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $8,621,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,175,766 shares in the company, valued at $598,335,650. This represents a 1.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Shelley Reynolds sold 2,363 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.38, for a total value of $620,003.94. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 119,780 shares in the company, valued at $31,427,876.40. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 135,719 shares of company stock worth $36,438,002 over the last three months. Company insiders own 8.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Perspectives Inc grew its holdings in Amazon.com by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 24,039 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $5,729,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951 shares in the last quarter. Prism Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Amazon.com in the 2nd quarter valued at $224,000. SWP Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amazon.com in the 2nd quarter valued at $270,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Amazon.com by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 3,580 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Udine Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 7.9% during the second quarter. Udine Wealth Management Inc. now owns 27,868 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $6,642,000 after purchasing an additional 2,032 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.20% of the company’s stock.

Amazon.com Trading Up 15.3%

The stock has a market cap of $2.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.46. The business’s 50 day moving average is $245.59 and its 200 day moving average is $235.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc is a diversified technology and retail company best known for its e-commerce marketplace and broad portfolio of consumer and enterprise services. Founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the company launched as an online bookseller and expanded into a global retail platform that sells products directly to consumers and provides a marketplace for third-party sellers. Over time Amazon has grown beyond retail into areas including cloud computing, digital media, devices and logistics.

Key businesses and offerings include Amazon’s online marketplace and fulfillment services, the Amazon Prime membership program (which bundles expedited shipping with streaming and other benefits), Amazon Web Services (AWS) which supplies on-demand cloud computing and storage to businesses and public-sector customers, and a range of content and advertising services such as Prime Video and Amazon Advertising.