Core Viewpoint - Amazon's stock performance over the past five years has been underwhelming compared to the S&P 500, but this is attributed to timing rather than a decline in growth potential [3][4][6]. Company Performance - Over the last five years, Amazon's stock price increased by 44%, significantly lower than the S&P 500's approximate 86% return [3]. - The stock saw a substantial rise in 2020, with a nearly 90% increase from March to November, but then experienced a 50% decline in 2021 [4][5]. - Despite the five-year performance being a probable anomaly, Amazon has outperformed the S&P 500 in one-year and three-year periods [6]. Business Segments - Amazon's e-commerce segments report positive operating income, supported by fast-growing subscription, third-party seller, and advertising businesses [9]. - The majority of Amazon's operating income is derived from its cloud-oriented Amazon Web Services (AWS), which has consistently exceeded 30% operating margins [10]. Industry Outlook - The cloud computing industry is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20% through 2030, while e-commerce is expected to grow at a 19% CAGR [11].

The giant of a company clearly can't live up to the incredibly high standard of its impressive past, but...E-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN -2.61%) has certainly turned several patient investors into millionaires since its public offering in 1997.But it would be naïve to pretend that the stock's 230,000% gain since then wasn't rooted in extraordinary circumstances. That's the proliferation of the internet, of course, paired with founder Jeff Bezos' vision of how the internet would become a powerful shopping me ...