Shares of Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) gained 3.90% over the past five trading sessions, bringing the e-commerce and cloud storage solutions stock’s year-to-date gain to 4.91%. Over the past year, it is up 29.63%. AMZN’s most recent catalyst came in mid-August when the company announced it will begin offering customers same-day grocery delivery. On July 8, it was reported that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos sold nearly three million shares worth $665.8 million over two days in July as part of a plan announced earlier in 2025 that will see Bezos unload up to 25 million shares through May 2026. In its Q2 earnings call on July 31, the company reported that net sales increased 13% to $167.7 billion in the second quarter, compared with $148.0 billion in the year-prior quarter. Net income increased to $18.2 billion, or $1.68 per diluted share, compared with $13.5 billion, or $1.26 per diluted share, in Q2 2024. However, free cash flow decreased to $18.2 billion TTM, compared with $53.0 billion TTM the year prior due to Amazon’s ongoing CapEx on AI. In June and July the stock saw a series of adjusted price targets. Analysts at Stifel ($262 from $245), Barclays ($275 from $240), Bank of America ($272 from $265), Piper Sandler ($255 from $250), Capital ($270 from $233), Citi ($265 from $225), Needham ($265 from $220), Cantor Fitzgerald ($260 from $240), Truist ($250 from $226), all recently upgraded their price targets for AMZN. Amazon announced in July that it has deployed its 1 millionth robot while also deploying its new AI foundation model to power its robotic fleet. Its first twelfth generation automated fulfillment center launched in late-2024 and the robots are primarily focused on delivery station efficiencies. The robotics cycle is “early,” according to Bank of America’s analyst, who expects Amazon to leverage robots to reduce labor dependency, increase order accuracy and improve warehouse efficiency, driving material cost savings. While there can be little doubt about Amazon’s current financial health, investors and potential investors may be right to wonder whether growth can continue at Amazon’s historic pace, and whether the stock is safe as a long-term holding. Let’s take a look at where the share price could be headed. 24/7 Wall St. Key Points: Amazon is facing substantial headwinds this year, but the stock remains fundamentally sound with a “Strong Buy” rating. AWS, AI and ad sales continue to be major drivers for the Magnificent Seven stock. If you’re looking for a megatrend with massive potential, make sure to grab a complimentary copy of our “The Next NVIDIA” report. This report breaks down AI stocks with 10x potential and will give you a huge leg up on profiting from this massive sea change. Why Invest in Amazon? In the past 20 years, Amazon’s stock is up more than 9,491%. The company has been called one of the most influential economic and cultural forces in the world, and its brand is one of the world’s most valuable. Though the stock tumbled as the COVID-19 pandemic waned and lockdowns ended (along with the broader markets), it has more than recovered. Shares of this Magnificent Seven member hit an all-time high on Feb. 4, 2025, but with the Nasdaq briefly entering bear market territory in March, it had been downhill for Amazon in 2025. There have been signs of hope recently, with AMZN rebounding along with the broad market. It is hard to imagine that the company or its share price will collapse any time soon, but analysts and investors may see the stock as overbought. Let’s see what Wall Street expects. Amazon as a Company The company engages in the retail sale of consumer products, advertising, and subscriptions service through online and physical stores internationally. It also manufactures and sells electronic devices and develops and produces media content. Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides compute, storage, database, analytics, machine learning, and other services. And Amazon Prime is the company’s membership program. Amazon is based in Seattle. It was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, the former chief executive officer and now executive board chair. Amazon went public in May 1997. Its retail competitors include Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE:BABA), Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) and Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT). It also competes with the likes of Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT). The company continues its push into artificial intelligence with an update of its Alexa feature to Alexa+. AWS investments in cloud computing and AI also continue, with the former being the world’s largest cloud services provider and the latter nearing its debut of its “Nova” chatbot, which will compete in price with ChatGPT. Additionally, Amazon has been expanding its same-day delivery services, and its entertainment division has secured the James Bond franchise with the acquisition of MGM Studios. Headwinds include ongoing labor issues. The most recent quarterly results showed strong performance, with AWS as a major growth driver. Amazon as a Stock Wall Street analysts’ median price target of $265.22 is above Amazon’s all-time high share price seen earlier this year and good for potential upside of 14.79%. Of the 45 analysts covering AMZN, all but one assign it a “Buy” rating, with the other assigning it a “Hold” rating. Overall, the stock receives a consensus “Strong Buy” rating. With 64.88% of shares held by institutional investors — including notable stakes from the three largest asset management companies, Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street — the stock is popular among Wall Street’s sell-side firms. Institutional holdings of Amazon have seen net increase with 3,196 position increases versus 2,166 position decreases. Wall Street expectations for where the stock goes in the next 52 weeks vary. While analysts overall anticipate healthy upside, the lowest price target indicates a decline in the share price. The consensus projection signals strong upside potential for the next 52 weeks, based on strong forward guidance for business segments like AWS and Prime Video’s ad sales, which saw enormous year-over-year increases as the platform now hosts the NFL’s Thursday Night Football programming. Estimate Price Target %Change From Current Price Low $240 3.88% Median $265.22 14.79% High $300.00 29.85% Amazon does face some headwinds and risks in addition to those mentioned above. Consumer spending has rebounded in the wake of Trump’s tariff threats and subsequent pauses, which could help GDP in Q2 after it contracted GDP in Q1, raising the risks of a possible recession in 2025. Over the past three months, the consumer discretionary sector of the S&P 500 — into which Amazon falls — has performed the third best, posting a gain of 6.22%. While the company dominates in the retail space and is a tech leader, competition in neither category is likely to go away anytime soon. All these things could have a huge impact on profitability. Despite some skeptics, the prospects for Amazon are optimistic overall, especially in the short term. Wall Street’s “Strong Buy” consensus rating and the upside potential far outweigh the downside potential shares of AMZN face. The post Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) Stock Price Prediction for 2025: Where Will It Be in 1 Year appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..
The artificial intelligence (AI) industry has two people who are viewed as its leaders. One of these is Jensen Huang, the leader of dominant AI chip maker Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA). The other is Sam Altman, leader of AI company OpenAI. Altman recently said the industry is in a high-risk bubble. 24/7 Wall St. Key Points OpenAI’s Sam Altman warns of an artificial intelligence (AI) bubble. Big tech stocks like Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) could collapse if Altman is correct. Take this quiz to see if you’re on track to retire. (sponsored) Altman told a group of journalists recently that AI has formed a dangerous bubble. “When bubbles happen, smart people get overexcited about a kernel of truth.” He added that AI has a remarkable future, but investors have gotten ahead of themselves. Although Altman did not say so exactly, it appears he is referring to the dot-com bubble of 1999 to 2002, according to CNBC. The Nasdaq dropped 80% over the period, and some of the most prominent companies in the industry went under. Dr. Torsten Sløk, the chief economist of Apollo Academy, wrote last month that “The difference between the IT bubble in the 1990s and the AI bubble today is that the top 10 companies in the S&P 500 today are more overvalued than they were in the 1990s.” The Apollo Academy is part of the global private equity leader Apollo Global Management. What This Means for the Magnificent 7 If Altman and Sløk are right, the stocks of some of America’s largest companies could face a significant sell-off. Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) reported that they will invest tens of billions of dollars in AI server farms this year. This could be the most significant capital expenditure level in history. The earnings of the large companies rely heavily on the success of their AI initiatives. That, in turn, translates into the value of their stocks. What is the best way to look at a potential sell-off of the world’s most valuable companies based on market cap? One way is to look at their stock prices before the AI investment frenzy. In August 2023, Microsoft traded at $311. Today, it trades at $520, which is a gain of 67%. Meta traded at $274 in the same month. Today, it trades at $785. Meta’s stock is on its way to tripling over the same period. Granted, Meta and Microsoft have posted good earnings in the past two years, but that cannot, in and of itself, explain the jump in their share prices. If Altman is correct, the collapse of these stocks could be tremendous. Move Over, Magnificent 7: The Frontier 7 Will Redefine Our Future The post OpenAI’s Sam Altman Says AI Is Dangerous Bubble appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..
