Key Facts on Apple and Amazon
As of January 15, 2023, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) saw its shares increase by 942% over the past decade, while Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) reported a 706% rise in the same period. In the third quarter of 2023, Amazon achieved $180 billion in net sales and generated $17.7 billion in digital advertising revenue, marking a 24% year-over-year growth. Analyst estimates predict Amazon’s revenue will grow at a compound annual rate of 11.5% from 2024 to 2027, compared to Apple’s projected revenue growth of only 1.8% between fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2025.
Apple’s net profit margin has averaged 25.5% over the last five years, driven by its strong brand loyalty and walled ecosystem of products. However, new product lineups are projected to have less impact on growth, with increased sales expected from the iPhone 17 models in the first quarter of fiscal 2026. In contrast, Amazon’s position in cloud computing through its Amazon Web Services (AWS) segment bolsters its capabilities amid the AI surge, as well as its role in e-commerce, which constitutes 16.4% of total retail spending in the U.S.
On valuation, Apple trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 31.4, while Amazon’s ratio stands at 28.7, positioning Amazon as the potentially better investment in the current market landscape.
