Amazon (AMZN) stock has risen 5.68% over the past week, 10.67% in the last month, and 12.74% over the past year, showing steady but not spectacular gains. Wall Street’s analysts are firmly bullish, with a “Strong Buy” consensus and an average 12‑month price target of $294.55, implying meaningful upside from the last closing price of $246.29.
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Among the latest voices on the stock, Justin Post of Bank of America reiterated his Buy rating on (AMZN) on January 12, 2026, with a price objective of $303.00. That target suggests solid upside from the roughly $247 level at the time of his report. Post, who ranks 45 out of 10,350 analysts on TipRanks and carries a 69.38% success rate with an average return of 25.20% per rating, sees 2026 as a key year in reshaping sentiment around Amazon’s cloud business.
Post argues that the main driver for the stock in 2026 will be Amazon Web Services (AWS), particularly its position in artificial intelligence. In 2025, Amazon shares were up only 5%, lagging the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, largely because investors grew wary of AWS’s AI positioning and pushed the forward EV/EBITDA multiple down by about 15% year over year. He believes this can reverse as new AWS capacity comes online, recent leadership changes begin to show results, and strong usage of Amazon’s AI assistant Rufus supports an “agentic” retail future. If Amazon’s proprietary technologies—its large language model and Trainium chips—continue to improve versus rivals, AWS could win on lower AI inference costs, a key concern for enterprise customers.
On the retail side, the analyst highlights Amazon’s steady execution, with modest market share gains and expanding margins that may allow its profit growth to outpace other mega-cap peers. Potential positives for 2026 include faster AWS growth from improved capacity, stronger AI positioning helped by management changes and proprietary tech, further retail margin expansion, multiple growth levers in retail such as grocery, agentic AI shopping experiences, and enhancements or fee increases in Prime, plus a valuation that still looks attractive compared with the company’s own history. At around $250, Amazon is trading at roughly 11x Street 2027 EBITDA and 25x GAAP EPS—only a slight premium to Microsoft and a discount to names like Alphabet and Walmart—leaving room, in Post’s view, for multiple expansion if AI execution improves.
Still, Post cautions that the story is not without risks. If Amazon’s AI capabilities trail competitors, AWS could continue to lose cloud market share. Heavy investment in AWS capacity might pressure margins, and competing “agentic” AI experiences from rivals could weigh on Amazon’s retail traffic or high-margin advertising revenue. Shopify and Walmart could also gain ground in e-commerce, and tough comparisons in online retail might slow growth in 2026. Even so, with a Strong Buy consensus, a double-digit 12‑month gain already behind it, and a cluster of AI and retail catalysts ahead, Amazon remains a stock closely watched by investors looking for both growth and improving sentiment. Never miss a stock rating. Find all the latest ratings on TipRanks’ Top Wall Street Analysts page.