The S&P 500 Index is up 13.3% year to date, with Apple and Tesla rebounding. Alphabet joined the $3 trillion market cap club, but Amazon has underperformed, barely in the green. Amazon’s growth is driven by AWS, but it lags behind Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.

Amazon’s Q3 earnings guide fell below estimates, facing competition from Walmart. A $2.5 billion settlement with the FTC dampened sentiment. Despite this, Wells Fargo upgraded Amazon to “Overweight,” with a $280 target price, higher than the average analyst estimate.

Amazon needs a new story to improve sentiment, similar to Tesla’s robotaxi expansion or Apple’s strong iPhone 17 reception. The upcoming Q3 earnings could be a trigger for Amazon, providing updates on AWS performance and holiday shopping outlook for Q4.

Amazon trades at reasonable valuations, with a forward P/E multiple of 32.3x. The company may reveal more on its AI strategy and monetization plans in Q4 to justify its capex on AI infrastructure. Wall Street remains bullish on Amazon, with a consensus “Strong Buy” rating from analysts.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: Amazon Stock Is Underperforming Badly in 2025. What It Needs in Q4.