AMZN vs MSFT: Amazon vs Microsoft Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Amazon and Microsoft are the two largest cloud infrastructure companies in the world. AWS leads in cloud market share; Azure is growing faster and has stronger enterprise AI monetisation through Copilot. Amazon's profit mix is improving toward higher-margin businesses (ads, AWS); Microsoft already operates at very high margins with a more software-oriented model.
Use this AMZN vs MSFT comparison to choose between the world's largest cloud platform (AWS + ads + retail) and the world's dominant enterprise software and AI platform (Azure + Microsoft 365 + Copilot). Both are compounders; the choice is between Amazon's higher near-term revenue growth potential and Microsoft's higher near-term margin quality.
MSFT holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. AMZN has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+2.72% vs -24.48%), though MSFT has the better forward P/E setup (20.32x vs 24.95x for AMZN). MSFT leads on both revenue growth (18.30%) and operating margin (46.33%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for MSFT (+41.74%) than for AMZN (+27.10%).
- →Want the world's largest cloud provider combined with a dominant e-commerce marketplace and growing advertising business
- →Value Amazon's total ecosystem — Prime, AWS, ads, logistics — as a compounding platform
- →Prefer higher near-term revenue growth potential as retail, AWS, and ads all scale together
- →Are comfortable with higher capex intensity during the AI infrastructure build-out phase
- →Want the world's leading enterprise software platform with Azure cloud growth on top
- →Value Copilot AI monetisation as a tangible, near-term revenue layer across Microsoft 365
- →Prefer higher operating margins and more predictable subscription revenue from enterprise contracts
- →Seek a dividend-paying mega-cap tech stock with a consistent capital return program
| Metric | AMZN | MSFT |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 60.7 | 58.5 |
| AI rank | #189 | #224 |
| Latest close | $233.66 | $381.58 |
| 1M return | -0.19% | +2.04% |
| 6M return | +1.02% | -14.08% |
| 1Y return | +2.72% | -24.48% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | AMZN | MSFT |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $10.24K (+2.4%) started 2025-07-23 | $7.54K (-24.6%) started 2025-07-23 |
| 5Y ago | $12.63K (+26.3%) started 2021-07-26 | $14.12K (+41.2%) started 2021-07-26 |
| 10Y ago | $63.18K (+531.8%) started 2016-07-25 | $85.25K (+752.5%) started 2016-07-25 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | AMZN | MSFT |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $2.66T | $2.93T |
| Trailing P/E | 29.57 | 23.47 |
| Forward P/E | 24.95 | 20.32 |
| Price/Sales | 3.49 | 11.87 |
| EV/Revenue | 3.71 | 9.34 |
| Analyst target | $314.23 | $558.21 |
| Target upside | +27.10% | +41.74% |
| Metric | AMZN | MSFT |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 16.60% | 18.30% |
| Earnings growth | 74.80% | 23.40% |
| EPS growth | +74.80% | +23.40% |
| FCF margin | +1.32% | +11.63% |
| Operating margin | 13.14% | 46.33% |
| Profit margin | 12.22% | 39.34% |
| ROIC proxy | 24.29% | 34.01% |
| Return on equity | 24.29% | 34.01% |
| Dividend yield | N/A | 0.92% |
| Beta | 1.46 | 1.13 |
| Debt/equity | 53.30 | 30.27 |
| Current ratio | 1.18 | 1.28 |
| Quick ratio | 0.97 | 1.14 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | AMZN | MSFT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +2.35% | -24.57% |
| CAGR | +2.36% | -24.60% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.09 | -1.05 | |
| Max drawdown | 21.74% | 34.91% | |
| Max daily drop | 8.27% | 9.99% | |
| Max wkly drop | 14.09% | 14.43% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +26.31% | +36.47% |
| CAGR | +4.79% | +6.43% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.18 | 0.20 | |
| Max drawdown | 55.77% | 37.15% | |
| Max daily drop | 14.05% | 9.99% | |
| Max wkly drop | 20.35% | 14.43% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +531.85% | +654.75% |
| CAGR | +20.26% | +22.41% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.59 | 0.72 | |
| Max drawdown | 56.15% | 37.15% | |
| Max daily drop | 14.05% | 14.74% | |
| Max wkly drop | 20.35% | 16.36% |
| Category | AMZN | MSFT |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Amazon.com, Inc. | Microsoft Corporation |
| Sector | Consumer Cyclical | Technology |
| Industry | Internet Retail | Software - Infrastructure |
| Core business | Global technology and retail company. AWS is the world's largest cloud provider. Advertising is a $50B+ high-margin business. North America and International e-commerce provide scale. Prime membership, third-party marketplace, and logistics complete the ecosystem. | Global technology company. Azure is the #2 cloud provider. Microsoft 365 (Office, Teams) dominates enterprise productivity. GitHub, LinkedIn, Dynamics, and Xbox round out the portfolio. Copilot AI is embedded across all major products. |
| Investor focus | AWS revenue growth and margin expansion, advertising compound growth, North America retail margin improvement, and AI infrastructure ROI. | Azure growth rate, Microsoft 365 Copilot AI monetisation, operating margin trajectory, and capital return via buybacks and dividends. |
- →AWS is the #1 cloud provider globally — a dominant position in the infrastructure layer of the digital economy
- →Advertising is growing rapidly and carries software-like margins, diversifying Amazon's profit mix
- →Prime creates unmatched customer loyalty and enables cross-selling across retail, streaming, and services
- →Azure is the #2 cloud provider with strong enterprise relationships and AI workload momentum
- →Microsoft 365 is the global enterprise productivity standard — extremely sticky with low churn
- →Copilot AI integration across Microsoft's entire product suite positions it as the leading enterprise AI platform
- →Heavy AI and data center capex is significant — the market is watching whether AI revenue ramp justifies the spend
- →Retail e-commerce margins are structurally lower than cloud and ads, limiting blended margin expansion
- →Regulatory scrutiny of marketplace practices, logistics, and cloud market power
- →AI infrastructure capex is rising significantly — Microsoft is investing heavily to support Azure AI demand
- →Activision integration complexity and gaming segment margin management
- →Azure growth must sustain elevated rates to justify the AI infrastructure investment thesis
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