Amazon Stock (AMZN) Today: AWS AI Surge, Black Friday Strength and Regulatory Heat — November 29, 2025

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is heading into the core of the holiday shopping season with its share price back near recent highs, Wall Street leaning bullish, and regulators watching closely. Today’s news flow around Amazon stock is dominated by three big themes: an AI‑driven re‑acceleration at AWS, record online shopping over Black Friday/Cyber Monday, and rising regulatory and legal pressure on Prime and the cloud business. TechStock²+2Reuters+2

Amazon stock today: price, performance and valuation

U.S. markets are closed this Saturday, so the latest official price for Amazon is Friday’s close (November 28, 2025):

• Last close: $233.22 per share, up about 1.77% on the day
• 1‑week performance: +7.8%
• 1‑month performance: +0.67%
• 1‑year performance: +12.68%
• Market cap: roughly $2.49 trillion ^[1]

Amazon is trading about 11% below its all‑time high of $258.60 set earlier this month on November 3, 2025. ^[2]

On valuation and balance sheet:

• Trailing P/E: ~35.6
• PEG ratio: ~1.5
• Beta: ~1.3 (still more volatile than the market)
• Debt‑to‑equity: about 0.15, with current ratio ~1.02 and quick ratio ~0.81
• 52‑week range: $161.38 – $258.60 ^[3]

At roughly 32–36x forward earnings (depending on the source), Amazon continues to trade as a premium growth stock, not a mature defensive name. ^[4]

Q3 earnings backdrop: AWS, ads and retail firing together

Much of today’s commentary on Amazon stock refers back to the company’s blowout third‑quarter results:

• EPS: $1.95 vs. $1.57 consensus
• Revenue: $180.17 billion vs. ~$177.5 billion expected
• Revenue growth: about 13.4% year‑over‑year
• Net margin: ~10.5%
• Return on equity: ~23.8% ^[5]

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and advertising were the stars:

• AWS revenue grew ~20% year‑over‑year, its fastest growth in 11 quarters, putting the unit at roughly $33 billion in quarterly revenue and about a $132 billion annual run rate. ^[6]
• Advertising sales jumped about 24% to $17.7 billion, cementing Amazon as one of the world’s largest digital ad platforms. ^[7]

The earnings report triggered an 9–11% one‑day jump in AMZN at the end of October and flipped sentiment on whether Amazon was falling behind in AI. ^[8]

Today’s biggest story: AWS becomes a full‑blown AI growth engine

Two fresh articles this morning put AWS and AI at the center of the Amazon story:

1. Motley Fool / Finviz: “Amazon Is Turning Its Cloud Business Into an Artificial Intelligence Growth Engine.”
   • Notes that AWS now generates roughly 65% of Amazon’s total operating income and is becoming the main profit driver.
   • Highlights that AWS just posted its fastest growth in nearly three years and offers customers everything from Nvidia GPUs to Amazon’s own Trainium AI chips, the Bedrock AI platform, and tools for building AI agents. ^[9]
2. InsiderMonkey / Yahoo Finance: “Amazon (AMZN) Stock Gets Boost as AWS Growth Accelerates and AI Demand Surges.”
   • TD Cowen’s John Blackledge reiterated a Buy with a $300 price target (above today’s price by roughly 28%). ^[10]
   • He points out that AWS revenue growth accelerated to 20.2% year‑over‑year in Q3, up from 17.5% in Q2, and cites a $200 billion backlog that doesn’t yet include big deals signed in October. ^[11]
   • The note emphasizes Amazon’s $38 billion multi‑year cloud deal with OpenAI, which will run “hundreds of thousands” of Nvidia GPUs on AWS infrastructure and could scale to “tens of millions” of CPUs for AI agents. ^[12]
   • Cowen models AWS revenue climbing from $128.1 billion in 2025 to $348.5 billion by 2030, with operating income rising from $45.9 billion to $117.8 billion over the same period — roughly a low‑20s CAGR. ^[13]

Taken together, today’s AI‑focused coverage frames Amazon as no longer an AI laggard but a renewed heavyweight, with AWS, custom chips (Trainium) and a forthcoming in‑house model, Nova, all aimed at capturing more of the economics of generative AI rather than just reselling third‑party models. TechStock²+1

Black Friday 2025 & Cyber Monday: Amazon’s retail engine dominates

Retail‑oriented coverage today focuses on Black Friday 2025 and the rollout of Cyber Monday deals:

• Adobe Analytics data cited by Reuters shows U.S. Black Friday online sales hit a record $11.8 billion, up about 9.1% from last year. ^[14]
• 24/7 Wall St estimates that Amazon alone generates at least $2 billion in e‑commerce sales on Black Friday, underscoring just how outsized its share is of that online spending. ^[15]

A longer market analysis piece, “Amazon Navigates Nuanced Black Friday,” describes a “graying of Black Friday” into a multi‑week event, in which Amazon extends promotions over almost two weeks instead of a single day. Key takeaways from that article: ^[16]

• AI‑driven personalization (including Amazon’s generative shopping assistant Rufus) is central to steering shoppers toward the best discounts and optimizing logistics.
• Mobile commerce is projected to account for around 73% of Black Friday purchases, playing directly to Amazon’s strength in app‑based shopping and one‑click checkout.
• Amazon’s average pricing advantage of roughly 14% versus major U.S. retailers continues to pressure competitors like Walmart and Target to match promotions and expand their own digital strategies.

On Amazon’s own corporate site, the company is pushing 50+ Cyber Monday deals on brands like Nike, Dyson, Beats, Shark and LEGO, signaling that the promotional push is far from over. ^[17]

For investors, the question isn’t whether Amazon can drive holiday volume — the answer clearly looks like “yes” — but whether the mix of discounts and logistics costs compresses or expands Q4 margins. Today’s TS² article flags holiday execution as the number one near‑term catalyst for AMZN. TechStock²

Regulatory spotlight: Prime settlement and EU cloud probe

Regulation is the other major thread running through today’s Amazon stock coverage.

$2.5 billion FTC Prime settlement

TS² and Reuters recap what remains Amazon’s biggest regulatory headline of 2025: a $2.5 billion settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over Prime subscription practices. TechStock²

Key points:

• Amazon agreed to pay $1 billion in civil penalties plus $1.5 billion in refunds to more than 30 million Prime customers, after regulators alleged “dark patterns” that nudged people into Prime and made cancellation difficult. TechStock²
• Eligible customers, generally those who signed up between June 2019 and June 2025 via confusing offers and rarely used benefits, can receive automatic refunds of up to $51, with payments being distributed from November 12 through December 24, 2025. TechStock²
• Amazon must redesign its sign‑up and cancellation flows and submit to oversight by an independent monitor. TechStock²

Financially, $2.5 billion is meaningful but manageable for a company generating tens of billions in annual profit and more than $700 billion in revenue. Reputationally, it reinforces that Amazon is a test case for how far Big Tech can push subscription design and user‑interface “nudges”.

EU Digital Markets Act and cloud scrutiny

On the other side of the Atlantic, the European Commission has opened a probe into Amazon’s and Microsoft’s cloud businesses under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). TechStock²+1

Regulators are examining whether:

• AWS and Azure should be formally designated as “gatekeeper” cloud services, and
• Pricing structures like data‑egress fees and bundling practices unfairly lock in customers or disadvantage rivals. TechStock²

If AWS is dragged fully into the DMA regime, Amazon could face obligations around interoperability and self‑preferencing, with potential fines of up to 10% of global annual turnover for violations. TechStock²

Separately, the U.S. FTC is also investigating Amazon’s search‑advertising practices alongside Google, adding another layer of risk around the fast‑growing ad business. ^[18]

For AMZN shareholders, today’s framing is clear: regulation is unlikely to derail the near‑term earnings story, but it may steadily push Amazon toward more open, less “sticky” business models in Prime and the cloud.

Big‑money moves: what institutional investors did with Amazon this quarter

A wave of Form 13F‑driven headlines hit the tape today, mainly from MarketBeat, revealing how a variety of funds tweaked their Amazon positions in Q2:

• State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake by 0.3% to about 3.14 million shares, worth roughly $689 million. Amazon is now its 5th‑largest holding, at 3.6% of the portfolio. ^[19]
• South Dakota Investment Council trimmed its position by 0.2% but still holds around 602,655 shares worth about $132 million, making Amazon its 6th‑largest holding at 2.5% of assets. ^[20]
• Sigma Planning Corp lifted its stake by 0.8% to 347,130 shares, valued at about $76.2 million, its 4th‑largest position. ^[21]
• Telos Capital Management grew its holdings by 2.5% to roughly 93,764 shares worth around $20.6 million. ^[22]
• Texas Bank & Trust Co increased its AMZN stake by 9.6% to 16,369 shares, about $3.6 million and its 16th‑largest holding. ^[23]
• Regents Gate Capital LLP disclosed a new 189,680‑share position worth around $41.6 million, making Amazon an outsized 14.7% of its portfolio and the firm’s single largest position. ^[24]
• Garrison Bradford & Associates upped its stake by 11% to 19,868 shares, with Amazon now roughly 4.8% of its portfolio. ^[25]
• Torray Investment Partners cut its position by 4.2% to 77,963 shares (about $17.1 million), still ranking Amazon as its 15th‑largest holding. ^[26]
• Intellectus Partners trimmed its Amazon stake by 1.2% to 102,220 shares, but AMZN remains its largest single holding at about 4.8% of the portfolio. ^[27]

Most of these moves are marginal, but the pattern is telling:

• Institutional ownership sits around 72% of outstanding shares, with giants like Vanguard, Goldman Sachs, Nuveen and large pension funds generally adding rather than exiting positions. ^[28]
• Insider activity skews toward net selling — around 82,000 shares worth roughly $19 million sold in the past quarter — yet insiders still control just under 10% of the stock. ^[29]

For long‑term investors, today’s institutional data mostly reinforces that big money continues to treat Amazon as a core, long‑duration holding, with trims and adds around the edges rather than wholesale re‑positioning.

Wall Street view: mostly bullish, but AI capex is divisive

Today’s coverage heavily features analyst commentary:

• Aggregated data cited by TS² shows 47 analysts rating Amazon a “Strong Buy”, with an average 12‑month price target around $280.47 (roughly 20% above Friday’s close) and a range from about $195 to $335. TechStock²+1
• MarketBeat’s compilation puts the consensus at “Moderate Buy” with an average target near $295.78, and notes one Strong Buy, 56 Buy, 3 Hold and one Sell rating. ^[30]
• TradingView cites a broader analyst range with a max target of $360 and a min target of $250, still implying upside from today’s level. ^[31]

Recently updated price targets include:

• Cowen: $300 (Buy) ^[32]
• Wells Fargo: $292 (Overweight) ^[33]
• Rosenblatt: $305 (Strong Buy) TechStock²
• Mizuho: $315 (Buy) TechStock²
• President Capital: $320 (Buy) ^[34]
• Wedbush: $340 (Outperform) ^[35]
• Stifel, KeyCorp, Needham, Telsey and others cluster between $265 and $303 with various Buy/Overweight labels. ^[36]

Not everyone is fully convinced:

• A widely discussed note from Redburn (Rothschild & Co) downgraded Amazon from Buy to Neutral, arguing that the net present value of massive AI infrastructure spending may be lower than bullish investors assume. Redburn worries that:
  • AI data centers are more capital‑intensive than previous cloud cycles,
  • pricing power could be weaker as competition intensifies, and
  • a large share of long‑term value might accrue to model providers rather than cloud platforms. TechStock²+1

Simply Wall St’s narrative, published last week, echoes this tension: to own Amazon, investors must believe the company can convert heavy cloud and AI capex into sustainably higher margins over time. Their fair‑value framework pegs Amazon’s intrinsic value around $293 per share, implying sizable upside, but also highlights that community estimates span roughly $205–$303, reflecting genuine disagreement on AI profitability. ^[37]

Key risks and catalysts investors are watching next

Across today’s articles, several shared themes emerge for what will move Amazon stock over the coming months:

1. Holiday quarter execution
   • Did Amazon convert record Black Friday/Cyber Monday traffic into profitable growth, or did aggressive discounting and logistics spending eat into margins?
   • Q4 2025 earnings and 2026 guidance will be critical here. TechStock²+2FinancialContent+2
2. AI monetization vs. capex burn
   • AWS is clearly growing again, but can AI workloads and higher‑margin services ramp fast enough to justify a triple‑digit‑billion dollar capex run‑rate across data centers and custom chips? ^[38]
3. Regulatory overhang
   • The FTC Prime settlement, EU DMA cloud probe, and ongoing advertising and labor investigations could reshape how Amazon designs subscriptions, handles data, and treats marketplace sellers and workers — all with potential cost implications. TechStock²+2Reuters+2
4. Macro backdrop
   • As a consumer‑exposed company with a large ad business and enterprise‑facing cloud unit, Amazon is sensitive to discretionary spending, digital ad budgets, and corporate IT investment cycles. A softer macro environment could weigh on all three at once. TechStock²+1

Is Amazon stock (AMZN) a buy after today’s news?

From an investing standpoint, November 29, 2025 leaves the Amazon story looking like this:

• Bullish case:
  • AWS has re‑accelerated, with AI‑related demand turning the cloud unit into a structural growth engine again. ^[39]
  • The advertising business is compounding in the high‑teens to low‑20s, with enormous runway across retail media, streaming and Alexa‑powered experiences. TechStock²+1
  • Amazon still dominates U.S. e‑commerce and is setting the pace in logistics, personalization and mobile commerce, as the latest Black Friday data underline. ^[40]
  • The balance sheet is solid, and the company is generating strong free cash flow even as it invests heavily in AI.
• Bearish / cautious case:
  • The stock already trades at a premium multiple, so execution needs to stay nearly flawless, particularly around AI economics and holiday profitability. ^[41]
  • Regulatory and legal risks are growing, with Prime, cloud, ads and labor issues all under scrutiny in different jurisdictions. TechStock²+2Reuters+2
  • Even some bullish observers admit it’s not yet clear whether AI capex will deliver returns comparable to the early days of cloud. TechStock²+1

Most Wall Street targets and fair‑value models still imply roughly 20–30% upside from today’s price over the next 12 months, but that upside comes with meaningful execution and regulatory risk. Simply Wall St+3TechStock²+3MarketBeat+3

Nothing in today’s news flow definitively answers the question “Should I buy Amazon stock today?” — that depends on your time horizon, risk tolerance and view on AI and regulation. But the narrative on November 29, 2025 is clear:

Amazon is no longer being treated as an AI laggard; it’s a central player in the AI infrastructure race, a dominant holiday‑season retailer, and one of the most heavily scrutinized companies in the world.

If you’re considering an investment, it’s wise to:

• Stress‑test your thesis under less optimistic AI scenarios,
• Assume regulators will continue to tighten rules over the next decade, and
• Size any position so that volatility in a richly valued mega‑cap won’t derail your broader financial plan.

This article is for information and news purposes only and is not personal investment advice. Consider speaking with a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decisions.

References

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