[ad_1]
Amazon is on the docket to release fourth-quarter earnings after the stock market closes Thursday, and analysts remain optimistic that the company can deliver another solid report. Analysts polled by LSEG estimate that the “Magnificent Seven” tech titan will earn $1.97 per share on revenue of $211.33 billion. This would represent earnings growth of 6% and a revenue rise of 12.5% versus the same period a year ago. Amazon beat Wall Street’s forecasts for earnings and revenue in its third quarter, which ended in October. Revenue for Amazon’s cloud unit, a key area of attention, accelerated 20.2% during the quarter, exceeding the 18.1% analysts had expected. Shares of Amazon have slumped 4% over the past 12 months. The stock has added 1% this year. AMZN 1Y mountain AMZN 1Y chart Heading into earnings, Wall Street remains overwhelmingly bullish on Amazon. LSEG data shows that 67 analysts covering the stock rate it a strong buy or buy, while four have it at a hold. Analysts such as Bernstein’s Mark Shmulik have their eyes on growth in Amazon Web Services, its cloud computing unit, again as a key metric for the stock. “AWS may well have a sustainable long-term build out advantage with deep long-standing relationship across the supply chain and continued best-in-class non-AI compute infrastructure to complement,” he wrote. Shmulik expects AWS revenue growth to accelerate through 2026, and BMO Capital Markets analyst Brian Pitz agrees. “Our channel checks continue to support AWS’s growth acceleration, though competition and capacity constraints still keep a lid on upside potential,” Pitz wrote. Analysts also flagged that they were watching Amazon’s e-commerce demand trends and its advertising revenue. UBS analyst Stephen Ju cited high-margin revenue potential from Prime Video with ads as a catalyst for his buy thesis, while Pitz expects advertising to “again outpace all segments in 4Q25E.” Here’s what analysts at some of Wall Street’s biggest banks are saying before Amazon’s latest earnings report, from least optimistic to most. William Blair: Outperform rating William Blair did not provide a price target for Amazon. “We believe 2026 sets up favorably for Amazon. AWS can see growth reacceleration starting this year as AI platforms move from compute to inference, which favors the platforms’ scale and existing corporate relationships. And yet, we think Amazon is one of the best AI plays as the optionality stemming from the technology extends beyond its service to other companies, driving efficiency and competitive positioning within its own consumer-facing businesses. We believe this opportunity comes more to the fore in 2026.” Deutsche Bank: Buy, $300 price target The firm’s price target implies upside of 29% ahead, based on Amazon’s Wednesday closing price of $232.99 per share. “Ahead of 4Q25 earnings on Thursday (post-market), Amazon remains positioned as one of the worst performers amongst the Mag 7 given fears around the company being an AI laggard. While we don’t expect 4Q earnings to be the magic bullet that changes these fortunes, we do expect another positive earnings outcome to continue to chip away at this underperformance and believe Amazon can be one of the largest outperformers in our coverage in 2026.” Bernstein: Outperform, $300 target “Into the print: We view Azure’s revenue deceleration as idiosyncratic and tied to timing of new capacity and strategic allocation decisions. We remain convicted in accelerating 4Q AWS revenue growth that should further accelerate through 2026.” BMO Capital Markets: Outperform, $304 target The bank’s target would translate into a gain of 30%. “Our channel checks continue to support AWS’s growth acceleration, though competition and capacity constraints still keep a lid on upside potential. Retail sales remain healthy, but consumer confidence keeps moving in the opposite direction, indicating an unsustainable macro. Advertising continues to scale, and we expect it will again outpace all segments in 4Q25E, but our estimates already reflect the potential upside. Maintain revenue and Op Inc estimates, as we are somewhat cautious on retail into 2026E.” UBS: Buy, $311 target The bank’s forecast, up from $310, corresponds to 33% upside. “As 4Q25 results marks the second quarter of AWS acceleration, we expect investor conviction to continue to rise and drive outperformance as capital continues to rotate into AMZN shares. And as we have called out before, the benefits of its other investments across all of ecommerce, content, and LEO — in the form of faster [gross merchandising value], advertising, and data/access revenue — should also add to FCF upward revisions as well.”
[ad_2]
Source link
![QuantumScape inaugurates Eagle Line pilot for solid-state battery production [Video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/02/QuantumScape-solid-state-pilot-production.jpg?resize=1200%2C628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1 "QuantumScape inaugurates Eagle Line pilot for solid-state battery production [Video]")
