Market Turbulence Creates Small-Cap Opportunities
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 2 days ago
0mins
Should l Buy AMZN?
Source: Benzinga
- Market Instability: After a prolonged period dominated by mega-cap tech, the market has entered 2026 on shaky ground, with the S&P 500 breakeven for the year and the Magnificent 7 stocks averaging a -7.3% return, indicating investor concerns about future profitability.
- Surging Capital Expenditures: As tech giants pour tens of billions into AI models, chips, and data centers, investors are increasingly worried about potential margin compression, even as companies like Amazon tout operational efficiencies and cost reductions.
- Small-Cap Appeal: Skepticism towards large tech firms is prompting capital to rotate into smaller companies, particularly those positioned as enablers of AI development, with Franklin Templeton suggesting that opportunities may lie with suppliers and adopters rather than the mega-cap leaders.
- AI-Resilient Stocks: Despite challenges faced by large-cap software firms, JPMorgan argues that the recent selloff has been too indiscriminate, creating opportunities in what they term
Trade with 70% Backtested Accuracy
Stop guessing "Should I Buy AMZN?" and start using high-conviction signals backed by rigorous historical data.
Sign up today to access powerful investing tools and make smarter, data-driven decisions.
Analyst Views on AMZN
Wall Street analysts forecast AMZN stock price to rise
44 Analyst Rating
41 Buy
3 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 204.790
Low
175.00
Averages
280.01
High
325.00
Current: 204.790
Low
175.00
Averages
280.01
High
325.00
About AMZN
Amazon.com, Inc. provides a range of products and services to customers. The products offered through its stores include merchandise and content it has purchased for resale and products offered by third-party sellers. The Company’s segments include North America, International and Amazon Web Services (AWS). It serves consumers through its online and physical stores and focuses on selection, price, and convenience. Customers access its offerings through its websites, mobile apps, Alexa, devices, streaming, and physically visiting its stores. It also manufactures and sells electronic devices, including Kindle, Fire tablet, Fire TV, Echo, Ring, Blink, and eero, and develops and produces media content. It serves developers and enterprises of all sizes, including start-ups, government agencies, and academic institutions, through AWS, which offers a set of on-demand technology services, including compute, storage, database, analytics, and machine learning, and other services.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Anthropic Expands with New Office in India
- Market Expansion: Anthropic has opened a new office in Bengaluru, India, marking its second location in the Asia-Pacific region, highlighting India's significance as its second-largest market and expected to further drive Claude's market penetration.
- Leadership Change: The company appointed Irina Ghose as managing director for India, aiming to strengthen local market management and operational capabilities, thereby enhancing collaboration efficiency with local firms like Infosys and driving business growth.
- Funding Boost: Anthropic announced a $30 billion funding round this month, boosting its valuation to $380 billion, reflecting investor confidence in its leadership in the enterprise AI sector and further solidifying its market position.
- Technology Assessment: Amodei mentioned at the AI Impact Summit that Anthropic is evaluating Claude's performance across India's regional languages and local use cases, emphasizing the rapid advancement of AI technology and its potential societal impacts, despite facing friction with the U.S. Department of Defense.
See More
Amazon's Core Fundamentals Strengthen Amid Stock Reset
- Technical Pullback: Amazon's stock has stabilized near the long-term support zone of $195 to $200 after a sharp technical reset, indicating that the recent market sentiment fatigue does not reflect a deterioration in its core fundamentals, presenting a buying opportunity for long-term investors.
- Oversold Conditions: The Relative Strength Index has fallen into oversold territory, historically associated with intermediate-term rebounds, and combined with significant deviations from key moving averages, this increases the likelihood of a technical rebound toward the $220 to $230 range.
- Profitability Metrics: Amazon's forward P/E ratio stands at approximately 25x, with expected EPS growth of 25% and net margins of 10.8%, all surpassing industry averages, highlighting its robust profitability in the AI infrastructure sector.
- Strategic Investment Opportunity: By selling the March 20, 2026 $200 put option, investors can potentially acquire Amazon shares at a net price of $192.97 if the stock closes below $200, offering a 3.64% discount and a maximum reward of $703 per contract, showcasing a risk-managed investment strategy.
See More
Analysis of Three Growth Stocks in Consumer Sector
- Amazon's Market Advantage: Amazon (AMZN), as the world's largest e-commerce platform, currently trades at a significantly lower PE ratio compared to Walmart and Costco, while its e-commerce operating income growth outpaces sales growth, showcasing its efficient operations driven by investments in robotics and AI.
- Chewy's Defensive Business Model: Chewy (CHWY) trades at a forward PE ratio of 15.5 and has seen over 8% revenue growth in the first nine months of fiscal 2025, with 84% of sales coming from auto-ship customers, indicating a stable revenue source and strong customer loyalty.
- Dutch Bros' Expansion Potential: Dutch Bros (BROS) achieved a 7.7% increase in same-store sales last quarter and plans to expand its store count from 1,136 to over 2,029 by 2029, highlighting its strong momentum and market opportunities in rapid expansion.
- Return on Investment and Cash Flow: Dutch Bros can fully fund its expansion plans through operating cash flow due to relatively low store construction costs, and with ongoing same-store sales growth, it positions itself as a high-quality long-term investment.
See More
Significant Regime Shift in Wall Street Trends
- Market Performance Divergence: As of 2026, 493 stocks in the S&P 500 have outperformed the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (NASDAQ:MAGS), indicating a potential weakening of concentrated investments in tech giants, which may impact investor confidence.
- New ETF Launch: XMAG, launched on October 21, 2024, tracks the BITA US 500 ex Magnificent 7 Index, currently holding 493 stocks with net assets of $137.79 million, reflecting a rising demand for diversified investments in the market.
- Valuation Rotation Thesis: Investor Ed Yardeni's
See More
Amazon Surpasses Walmart as World's Largest Company by Revenue
- Revenue Milestone: Amazon (AMZN) reported $716.9 billion in revenue for fiscal year 2025, surpassing Walmart (WMT) at $713.2 billion, marking a significant shift in global retail leadership and ending Walmart's 13-year reign at the top.
- Growth Drivers: The revenue surge is attributed to the acceleration of AWS services and the continuous growth of third-party seller revenue, showcasing Amazon's robust competitiveness in technology and e-commerce, with potential for further market share expansion.
- Historical Comparison: In 2010, Amazon's revenue was just $34.2 billion compared to Walmart's $422 billion, highlighting Amazon's rapid growth and market transformation over the past decade, reflecting changing consumer shopping habits.
- Founding Background: Founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 in a garage in Bellevue, Washington, Amazon evolved from an online bookstore to the world's largest e-commerce platform, demonstrating its innovation and adaptability to market demands.
See More
Amazon Surpasses Walmart to Become World's Largest Company by Sales
- Sales Leadership: Amazon achieved $716.9 billion in revenue for fiscal year 2025, surpassing Walmart's $713.2 billion, marking the end of Walmart's 13-year reign at the top and highlighting Amazon's robust growth in the retail market.
- Market Reaction: Despite Amazon's record sales, its shares fell 0.1% in Thursday's pre-market trading, while Walmart's shares dropped over 3%, indicating differing market expectations for the future performance of both companies.
- Investor Sentiment: On the Stocktwits platform, investor sentiment around Amazon was trending in the 'neutral' territory, while sentiment for Walmart was 'extremely bullish', which could influence short-term stock price fluctuations for both companies.
- Industry Analysis: According to an analysis by Fortune, Amazon's revenue growth not only reflects its dominance in e-commerce but may also prompt Walmart to accelerate its digital transformation to address competitive pressures.
See More
Anthropic Expands with New Office in India
- Market Expansion: Anthropic has opened a new office in Bengaluru, India, marking its second location in the Asia-Pacific region, highlighting India's significance as its second-largest market and expected to further drive Claude's market penetration.
- Leadership Change: The company appointed Irina Ghose as managing director for India, aiming to strengthen local market management and operational capabilities, thereby enhancing collaboration efficiency with local firms like Infosys and driving business growth.
- Funding Boost: Anthropic announced a $30 billion funding round this month, boosting its valuation to $380 billion, reflecting investor confidence in its leadership in the enterprise AI sector and further solidifying its market position.
- Technology Assessment: Amodei mentioned at the AI Impact Summit that Anthropic is evaluating Claude's performance across India's regional languages and local use cases, emphasizing the rapid advancement of AI technology and its potential societal impacts, despite facing friction with the U.S. Department of Defense.
See More
Amazon's Core Fundamentals Strengthen Amid Stock Reset
- Technical Pullback: Amazon's stock has stabilized near the long-term support zone of $195 to $200 after a sharp technical reset, indicating that the recent market sentiment fatigue does not reflect a deterioration in its core fundamentals, presenting a buying opportunity for long-term investors.
- Oversold Conditions: The Relative Strength Index has fallen into oversold territory, historically associated with intermediate-term rebounds, and combined with significant deviations from key moving averages, this increases the likelihood of a technical rebound toward the $220 to $230 range.
- Profitability Metrics: Amazon's forward P/E ratio stands at approximately 25x, with expected EPS growth of 25% and net margins of 10.8%, all surpassing industry averages, highlighting its robust profitability in the AI infrastructure sector.
- Strategic Investment Opportunity: By selling the March 20, 2026 $200 put option, investors can potentially acquire Amazon shares at a net price of $192.97 if the stock closes below $200, offering a 3.64% discount and a maximum reward of $703 per contract, showcasing a risk-managed investment strategy.
See More
Analysis of Three Growth Stocks in Consumer Sector
- Amazon's Market Advantage: Amazon (AMZN), as the world's largest e-commerce platform, currently trades at a significantly lower PE ratio compared to Walmart and Costco, while its e-commerce operating income growth outpaces sales growth, showcasing its efficient operations driven by investments in robotics and AI.
- Chewy's Defensive Business Model: Chewy (CHWY) trades at a forward PE ratio of 15.5 and has seen over 8% revenue growth in the first nine months of fiscal 2025, with 84% of sales coming from auto-ship customers, indicating a stable revenue source and strong customer loyalty.
- Dutch Bros' Expansion Potential: Dutch Bros (BROS) achieved a 7.7% increase in same-store sales last quarter and plans to expand its store count from 1,136 to over 2,029 by 2029, highlighting its strong momentum and market opportunities in rapid expansion.
- Return on Investment and Cash Flow: Dutch Bros can fully fund its expansion plans through operating cash flow due to relatively low store construction costs, and with ongoing same-store sales growth, it positions itself as a high-quality long-term investment.
See More
Significant Regime Shift in Wall Street Trends
- Market Performance Divergence: As of 2026, 493 stocks in the S&P 500 have outperformed the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (NASDAQ:MAGS), indicating a potential weakening of concentrated investments in tech giants, which may impact investor confidence.
- New ETF Launch: XMAG, launched on October 21, 2024, tracks the BITA US 500 ex Magnificent 7 Index, currently holding 493 stocks with net assets of $137.79 million, reflecting a rising demand for diversified investments in the market.
- Valuation Rotation Thesis: Investor Ed Yardeni's
See More
Amazon Surpasses Walmart as World's Largest Company by Revenue
- Revenue Milestone: Amazon (AMZN) reported $716.9 billion in revenue for fiscal year 2025, surpassing Walmart (WMT) at $713.2 billion, marking a significant shift in global retail leadership and ending Walmart's 13-year reign at the top.
- Growth Drivers: The revenue surge is attributed to the acceleration of AWS services and the continuous growth of third-party seller revenue, showcasing Amazon's robust competitiveness in technology and e-commerce, with potential for further market share expansion.
- Historical Comparison: In 2010, Amazon's revenue was just $34.2 billion compared to Walmart's $422 billion, highlighting Amazon's rapid growth and market transformation over the past decade, reflecting changing consumer shopping habits.
- Founding Background: Founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 in a garage in Bellevue, Washington, Amazon evolved from an online bookstore to the world's largest e-commerce platform, demonstrating its innovation and adaptability to market demands.
See More
Amazon Surpasses Walmart to Become World's Largest Company by Sales
- Sales Leadership: Amazon achieved $716.9 billion in revenue for fiscal year 2025, surpassing Walmart's $713.2 billion, marking the end of Walmart's 13-year reign at the top and highlighting Amazon's robust growth in the retail market.
- Market Reaction: Despite Amazon's record sales, its shares fell 0.1% in Thursday's pre-market trading, while Walmart's shares dropped over 3%, indicating differing market expectations for the future performance of both companies.
- Investor Sentiment: On the Stocktwits platform, investor sentiment around Amazon was trending in the 'neutral' territory, while sentiment for Walmart was 'extremely bullish', which could influence short-term stock price fluctuations for both companies.
- Industry Analysis: According to an analysis by Fortune, Amazon's revenue growth not only reflects its dominance in e-commerce but may also prompt Walmart to accelerate its digital transformation to address competitive pressures.
See More
