How Amazon’s AI-led tech revolution is redefining e-commerce

Over the years, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) has constantly diversified, growing beyond the core retail business to areas like cloud computing and healthcare. The e-commerce behemoth has maintained stable sales by keeping prices low and holding deal events across markets, despite facing headwinds from new import tariffs and geopolitical tensions.

The Stock

After pulling back from its February peak, Amazon’s stock regained strength and has stayed above its long-term average in the past two months. Despite recent gains, the valuation remains compelling from an investment perspective. Almost every analyst following the company is bullish about the stock’s prospects and forecasts a double-digit growth this year. While AMZN continues to be favored by long-term investors, the recent dip has made the stock more affordable.

Amazon has constantly strived to increase delivery speed, harnessing advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and robotics. Recently the company deployed the millionth robot to its fleet. The fulfillment network, Prime Video, and the cloud business are the main areas where AI-supported automation is transforming customer experience. Of late, advertising has been a key growth driver — ad revenue grew 19% in the most recent quarter.

Key Metrics

In the first three months of fiscal 2025, Amazon’s net sales increased 9% year-over-year to $155.7 billion, exceeding expectations. North America segment sales rose 8% and international sales moved up 5% year-over-year. Revenues of Amazon Web Services, the company’s fast-growing cloud business, climbed 17% but fell short of expectations.

Driven by the positive top-line performance, net income increased to $17.1 billion or $1.59 per share in Q1 from $10.4 billion or $0.98 per share last year. The company has a strong track record of consistently beating quarterly earnings estimates. For the second quarter of 2025, the management expects net sales to be in the range of $159 billion to164 billion, which represents a 7-11% year-over-year increase.

From Amazon’s Q1 2025 earnings call:

“In the first quarter, we once again set new delivery speed records with our fastest delivery ever for Prime members around the world, and we delivered more items in the same day or the next day in q one than any other quarter in our history. Looking ahead, we’ll continue to refine our newly redesigned inbound network, build out our same-day delivery sites, and add additional robotics and automation throughout our buildings. You’ll also see us expand the number of delivery stations that we have in rural areas of The US so we can get items to people who live in less densely populated areas much more quickly.”

Advantage Amazon

The ongoing expansion of its delivery network, particularly in rural areas, positions Amazon to effectively compete with rivals like Walmart and Target Corporation. The company thrives on its undisputed dominance in e-commerce — which continues to be its core business — and the effective use of technology to enhance customer experience. Meanwhile, headwinds from new import tariffs and geopolitical tensions cast uncertainty over Amazon’s performance this year.

After a modest start to Wednesday, Amazon shares traded slightly higher midday. They have gained 7% in the past 30 days alone.