Amazon operates a global e-commerce platform with a large online marketplace that connects consumers to both direct sales and third-party sellers across many product categories. It earns money from product sales and marketplace fees, Amazon Prime subscriptions, and AWS cloud services, plus a large Amazon Associates affiliate network. The platform combines fast shipping, streaming, cloud computing, and digital services to reach customers across numerous countries. Its goal is to be the world’s most customer-centric company by offering convenient access to a wide range of products and services.
Company Size
10,001+
Company Stage
IPO
Headquarters
Seattle, Washington
Founded
1994
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Amazon has purchased two buildings totalling approximately 500,000 square feet at a former Forever 21 campus in Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles, for $146.2 million. The e-commerce giant acquired Buildings 2 and 3 at the 39-acre site on Mission Road, though its plans for the space remain unclear. The acquisition supports Amazon's expansion of same-day delivery operations, with plans to grow its network to over 1,000 locations by 2031. The campus is within 15 miles of more than 5.7 million people. Meanwhile, LA28, the 2028 Summer Olympics organizer, has leased the site's third building, a 667,000-square-foot flex office space, for 28 months. Sellers Newland Capital Group and Related Fund Management acquired the entire property last summer for $120 million.
Goldman Sachs warns that the AI stock rally hinges on hyperscalers demonstrating accelerating cloud revenue growth this earnings season. The firm expects year-over-year cloud growth to increase from 48% in Q2 to 55% in Q3 amongst Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Oracle. Goldman strategist Ben Snider emphasised that continued signs of AI capital expenditure monetisation will be crucial for both hyperscaler performance and future capex growth outlook. Micron provided an early positive signal last week, beating sales and profit forecasts driven by AI demand. The memory chipmaker added approximately $43 billion in sales compared to the year-ago quarter, with executives projecting tight capacity and high chip prices through 2028.
Amazon, valued at $2.7 trillion, currently trades 12% below its peak as of 30 September, presenting what appears to be an attractive entry point for investors. The stock's price-to-earnings ratio stands at 20.1, approaching its July low of 18.2. The company expects $828 billion in net sales this year. Its growth drivers include its e-commerce marketplace, digital advertising revenue which grew 26% year-over-year in Q2, and Amazon Web Services, which is seeing accelerating growth from artificial intelligence demand. Despite Amazon's market dominance across multiple industries, The Motley Fool's Stock Advisor team notably excluded it from their current list of 10 best stock picks for investors.
Ed Zitron warns that private credit funding AI data centres represents a "brewing crisis" as borrowing costs rise and project delays mount. His comments come as Amazon considers moving $8bn of Nvidia chips into an investor-funded vehicle, then leasing them back. Goldman Sachs tallies $88bn of lower-rated AI-related borrowing this year. CoreWeave reported $35.6bn of debt as of 30 June, having relied heavily on private credit including an $8.5bn facility anchored by Blackstone Credit & Insurance. Zitron argues that delays in getting data centres online increase interest costs, creating cash flow pressure. He notes that rising AI demand may worsen financing problems by requiring more compute and capital. Anthropic's draft IPO prospectus showed at least $518bn of infrastructure commitments over roughly the next decade.
Amazon has pledged to invest $1 billion in communities surrounding its AI data centres, according to Amazon Web Services head Matt Garman. The commitment aims to fund local infrastructure such as schools and improve perceptions of data centres. Amazon also announced it will no longer require non-disclosure agreements when negotiating with communities, a practice other tech companies have similarly abandoned. Some legislators had considered making such NDAs illegal. The move addresses growing community concerns about data centres' environmental impact and potential job displacement from AI. Whilst data centre construction creates temporary jobs for electricians, plumbers, and builders, these facilities require minimal labour once operational. Trade unions supporting construction workers have backed data centre development, though questions remain about long-term employment benefits for local communities after construction concludes.