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Investing.com -- Bank of America raised its price target for Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) shares to $265 from $248 in a note Wednesday, maintaining a Buy rating on the stock.
The bank cited expectations of a second-quarter retail beat and potential acceleration in Amazon Web Services (AWS) growth in the second half of the year.
Amazon is scheduled to report earnings on July 31. Bank of America said it has "slightly raise[d] estimates for strong 2Q retail data, FX and Anthropic AI growth," forecasting revenue of $164 billion, ahead of the $162 billion consensus.
The firm also expects second-quarter profit of $17.8 billion, topping both the Street estimate of $17.0 billion and the high end of Amazon’s own guidance at $17.5 billion.
BofA said its internal credit and debit card data, alongside Bloomberg Second Measure, point to a stronger-than-expected retail performance.
“We therefore expect Amazon N.A. to beat Street estimates by 2%+,” analysts wrote.
In international markets, the depreciation of the U.S. dollar in the second quarter should provide a lift.
“The Euro was up 5% y/y and 8% q/q vs the US$, which should aid International revenues,” BofA said.
The firm expects Amazon to guide third-quarter revenue in the $169 billion to $174 billion range, with GAAP EBIT guidance between $14.0 billion and $18.0 billion, below the Street’s $19.4 billion forecast.
BofA also noted “recent reports of AWS job cuts… which could aid 2H margins.”
“AWS key stock driver in 2H‘25,” BofA said, pointing to strong AI demand, backlog momentum and increased capex.
Despite trading at 13.4x 2026 EV/EBITDA, the firm believes Amazon has “multiple expansion potential.”