Amazon’s AI Cloud Crossroads Reignites Valuation Debate

Overview

• Blue Line Capital’s Bill Baruch called Amazon a top buy at roughly 25x forward earnings and said he expects AWS growth to reaccelerate to about 19% year over year, raising his firm’s position from 4.5% to 6%.
• AWS grew 17.5% in Q2 while Microsoft Azure rose 26% and Google Cloud increased 32%, reflecting customer tilt toward AI‑first platforms tied to OpenAI and Gemini.
• Deepwater’s Doug Clinton argued Wall Street’s capex forecasts for Amazon are too low and predicted higher spending that could favor suppliers such as Nvidia and TSMC.
• Mairs & Power Balanced Fund disclosed a new Amazon position in Q2 after April weakness tied to tariff headlines and a broader market pullback.
• Amazon shares have returned less than 40% over five years versus about 110% for the S&P 500, reinforcing the case some investors make for the stock’s relative value.