Amazon stock is hovering new record highs after the tech giant hosted it annual cloud conference and touted a strong start to holiday shopping. With Amazon stock is ahead more than 50% so far this year, the e-commerce and cloud computing company is also appearing on several analyst top pick lists for 2025.
Still, there are ongoing debates among investors as Amazon seeks to build on its gains. Analysts are scrutinizing the position of the Amazon Web Services' cloud business in the battle for artificial intelligence spending against Microsoft. Meanwhile, Amazon's e-commerce dominance is facing challenges from Walmart and China-based upstarts such as Temu and Shein.
So is Amazon stock a buy? Here's what to know about recent stock action and news for the tech giant:
Amazon Stock Adds To Rally
Amazon stock closed at 231.15, down three-quarters of a percent, on the stock market Tuesday. That's after gaining 2.4% to close at 232.93 on Monday, a record close for the $2 trillion tech giant.
The rally for Amazon kicked off its early November, when stocks jumped following the election of Donald Trump to a second term.
Amazon broke out above a 201.20 consolidation pattern entry, according to MarketSurge. After pulling back slightly in late November, Amazon has had a strong December, up 12% so far.
In that time, Amazon hosted its AWS re:Invent conference, where it clearly stepped up its challenge Nvidia's dominance of the AI chip market. The company also said the five day shopping window between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday brought record spending.
Amazon stock is now above a 5% buy zone from the consolidation pattern entry and approaching a profit-taking zone, according to MarketSurge.
Amazon's Relative Strength Rating sits at 88 out a best-possible 99. That means Amazon has outperformed 85% of stocks in the IBD database over the past 12 months. IBD recommends focusing on stocks with at least an 80 RS Rating.
The IBD Stock Checkup tool shows Amazon stock holds an IBD Composite Rating of 98 out of a best-possible 99. The score combines five separate proprietary ratings into one rating. The best growth stocks have a Composite Rating of 90 or better.
Further, Amazon stock holds an Accumulation/Distribution Rating of B-Plus. That rating analyzes price and volume changes in institutional ownership for a stock over the past 13 weeks. The current rating indicates more buying than selling by institutions.
Investors also will want to check out IBD's Big Picture column for the current market direction before considering any buy points. Here is a guide to understanding IBD's rating system.
Amazon Q3 2024 Earnings
Amazon stock rallied 6.2% after reporting third quarter earnings on Oct. 31.
The company beat expectations with a 52% increase in earnings, to $1.43 per share. Sales growth of $158.9 billion, up 11% year-over-year, also beat expectations.
While Amazon's sales forecast for the current quarter came in lighter than expected, the company's operating income impressed.
Analysts Name Amazon Stock Top 2025 Pick
The thirty-year-old Amazon is among the world's most valuable companies. It is a leader in e-commerce spending and in cloud-computing through its Amazon Web Services business. It is also quickly growing its advertising business into a challenger to Google and Meta. Amazon joined the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average earlier this year.
Despite the stock's strong run to record highs, Wall Street analysts still see room to run for Amazon.
Of the 73 stock analysts following Amazon, 95% have a buy rating, according to FactSet.
As of Tuesday, the average target price for Amazon stock from analysts is 240.34, according to FactSet. The average target price implies roughly 4% upside from Amazon's price as of market close Tuesday.
Amazon stock is typically a popular pick on Wall Street and it appears that will remain in 2025. Evercore ISI analyst Mark Mahaney named Amazon stock a top pick for 2025 in a note last week.
"Q3 was a profitability inflection point for Amazon and the shares haven't looked back," Mahaney wrote. "And we don't think they will going forward either."
The stock was also named a favorite by analysts with TD Cowen and Truist Securities in the past week.
Amazon Market Cap
You can check for Amazon's current stock price here. Amazon's market cap was $2.43 trillion, as of Dec. 17. Here is how the stock has grown over time:
| Time Period | Amazon Stock % Gain | S&P 500 % Gain |
|---|---|---|
| Year-to-Date | 52.1 | 26.9 |
| Previous 12 Months | 54.1 | 28.2 |
| Three Years | 36.88 | 29.60 |
| Five Years | 161.30 | 89.59 |
| Since 1997 Amazon IPO | 256,733 | 617 |
