Amazon Survived a 50% Crash. Here’s What a $1,000 Investment Became – AOL

Quick Read

• $1,000 invested in AMZN a decade ago is worth $5,966 today, representing a 497% return that nearly doubled the S&P 500’s 255% gain.

• AWS revenue surged 36.7% to $42.2 billion in Q2 2026, its fastest growth in 18 quarters, fueled by AI demand.

• Amazon expects $220 billion in 2026 capex while trailing free cash flow sits at -$7.6 billion, pressuring the bull case.

How an Online Store Became a Cloud and Ad Empire

A decade ago, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) was mostly an online store with a promising cloud side business. Over the decade that followed, AWS became the dominant profit engine, Prime grew alongside a huge logistics expansion, and advertising turned into a giant that brought in $19.8 billion in Q2 2026 alone, up 26%.

The pandemic sent e-commerce demand surging, and Andy Jassy succeeded Jeff Bezos as CEO in July 2021. Then the bill came due. Amazon overbuilt its fulfillment network, posted its first unprofitable year since 2014 in 2022, and the…