There haven't been many success stories as outstanding as Amazon (AMZN +3.47%). This business has grown rapidly over the past couple of decades and now dominates multiple sectors, with customers using its products daily.
This "Magnificent Seven" stock has crushed it for investors, rising 975% in just the past 10 years (as of April 19). Even after this monumental performance, shares trade at a reasonable price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of under 3.2.
Before you buy Amazon stock, take the time to learn these three things you might not have known about this business.
Up-and-coming revenue driver
Investors know Amazon as an e-commerce and cloud-computing powerhouse. That's certainly the case, as these areas produce the bulk of the company's revenue.
But there's an under-the-radar segment that deserves some attention. I'm talking about digital advertising. Amazon displays ads on its popular website, which had 4.3 billion visitors in March, and through the Prime Video streaming service, for example.
There are a lot of eyeballs on these two services, creating the perfect monetization opportunity. This allowed Amazon to bring in $14.7 billion of ad revenue in the fourth quarter of 2023, almost double the amount in the same three-month period three years ago.
The rise of this segment in the recent past is truly remarkable, and it points to how Amazon is able to add adjacent business lines in short order. Amazon has become so successful in the advertising space that only Alphabet and Meta Platforms are ahead of it when it comes to market share in the U.S.
NASDAQ: AMZN
Key Data Points
Notable competitive strengths
A business doesn't become as dominant as Amazon without developing some powerful competitive strengths along the way. This company has numerous advantages working in its favor.
This business generated $575 billion in net sales in 2023. That demonstrates how Amazon benefits from tremendous scale. It sells and ships so many products and produces massive amounts of revenue, so it's able to drive a more efficient logistics network, cutting down delivery costs.
Because the main online marketplace, as well as Prime and Amazon Web Services (AWS), collect so much data, the company now has another asset working for it. Businesses that can amass massive amounts of data on users and also glean insights from this data are poised to stay ahead of the competition.
Perhaps most importantly, Amazon's operations lean on positive feedback loops. For one thing, the marketplace, with its buyers and merchants, possesses network effects. Then there's the interconnection of different services. For example, someone who signs up for Prime to receive fast and free shipping could then start to watch streaming entertainment, which drives ad revenue.
Investors should prioritize owning businesses like this that have numerous strengths. In Amazon's case, it's hard to argue that its competitive position is under any serious threat, at least for the foreseeable future.
Reaching into new areas
Amazon's ascent has been propelled by impressive growth. The business seems to want to enter every industry imaginable, leaning on its customer-centric philosophy.
Amazon bought Whole Foods in 2017, immediately giving it a huge presence in the gargantuan grocery category. The business is also in the healthcare, consumer electronics, payments, gaming, autonomous driving, and satellite-internet segments.
This points to the company's strategy of entering totally different markets to drive growth, which may or may not work out as intended. But this is encouraging for shareholders because it shows that Amazon is not resting on its laurels.
Now that you're more familiar with the success of Amazon's ad segment, its numerous competitive strengths, and its expansionary strategy, perhaps it's time you considered buying the stock.
