Amazon (AMZN) stock pops 2.8% in pre-market trading after receiving a strong vote of confidence from TD Cowen today, Monday, March 23, 2026. Analyst John Blackledge reiterated his Buy rating and $300 price target, naming the company a preferred large-cap pick. The firm remains bullish on Amazon’s ability to grow its profits faster than its revenue. According to the report, “high-margin Ads and AWS businesses continue ramping while e-commerce margins benefit from lower cost to serve.” This combination of factors creates what TD Cowen calls “structural tailwinds in artificial intelligence, Ads momentum, and margin expansion” heading into the next year.
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Trade AMZN with leverageWith AMZN stock currently trading near $205, Blackledge’s forecast suggests a 46.34% upside potential over the next year.
AWS Growth Expected to Lead Rebound
The positive outlook is largely driven by a predicted turnaround for Amazon Web Services (AWS). While growth was previously impacted by capacity issues, TD Cowen believes the cloud unit is ready for a major comeback. John Blackledge expects AWS revenue growth to “reaccelerate through 2025 and into 2026 as demand for AI workloads increases.”
Beyond the cloud, Amazon’s retail business is showing structural improvements. TD Cowen noted that the retail segment should see strong growth in 2026. This is supported by “cont’d record delivery speed (which drives purchase conversion), expansion of same day perishables biz, & investment in rural markets.” These efficiency gains are expected to lower the cost to serve customers while increasing overall sales.
Amazon’s High-Margin Advertising Remains a Critical Growth Engine
Advertising remains another critical growth engine for the company. TD Cowen forecasts that Amazon’s 2026 advertising revenue will grow at a “high teens pace year over year.” This growth is expected to be powered by several factors, including “sponsored products, demand-side platform momentum, and an expanding Prime Video ad business.” The firm estimates that these high-margin segments will help push Amazon’s 2026 operating income to roughly $104 billion.
Is Amazon a Buy or Sell Right Now?
Turning to TipRanks, Amazon’s shares (AMZN) remain a Strong Buy based on analysts’ consensus rating. This breaks down to 40 Buys and three Holds issued over the past three months.
Additionally, the average 12-month AMZN price target of $280 implies 36.34% upside from current trading levels.
