Key Financial Updates on Amazon and Costco
Amazon reported a 14% year-over-year increase in total net sales for Q4 2025, reaching $213.4 billion, with its cloud computing segment, Amazon Web Services (AWS), seeing significant growth of 24% to $35.6 billion. Despite this momentum, Amazon has announced plans for substantial capital expenditures, expecting to invest approximately $200 billion in 2026, up from $131.8 billion in 2025.
Meanwhile, Costco’s fiscal first quarter of 2026 (ending Nov. 23) showed net sales rising 8.2% to about $66 billion, with comparable sales increasing by 5.9% in the U.S. and maintaining a 92% membership renewal rate. Membership fee revenue increased by 14% to $1.33 billion, despite a recent fee hike.
In terms of valuation, Amazon is trading at around 29 times earnings, significantly lower than Costco’s 54 times earnings, yet Amazon’s robust cloud growth and advertising revenue expansion (22%) present a compelling investment opportunity, despite potential risks from its aggressive AI spending plans.
