Among the Most Profitable Stocks of the Last 10 Years

We recently compiled a list of the 10 Most Profitable Stocks of the Last 10 Years. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) stands against the other profitable stocks.

In an interview with CNBC on October 14, Michael Kantrowitz, Chief Investment Officer at Piper Sandler noted that while the market is expensive, it’s not a reason to get bearish and that unless a risk arises, the market will likely stay expensive. Kantrowitz explains that the market’s valuation is driven by the pricing out of risks that existed two years ago, such as inflation and higher interest rates. He believes that if these risks were to resurface, it would be a reason to get worried, but currently, that’s not the backdrop.

He also notes that investors should focus on stocks with continued earnings momentum, as these names will likely see the best outperformance and can hold their expensive multiples for longer. Kantrowitz is not too concerned about higher bond yields but notes that they can be a problem at some point. He thinks that yields would need to reach 4.25% to show up in the broader market.

Regarding earnings revisions, Kantrowitz believes that revisions coming down have not overdone it and that it’s normal to see estimates from the sell-side start out high and then trickle down throughout the year. He expects to see more downward earnings revisions but notes that large-cap stocks have held up far better in terms of earnings, which is why they continue to outperform.

Tom Lee, Managing Partner and Head of Research at Fundstrat Global Advisors discussed the markets and his recent observations. Lee believes that the market’s resilience is due to the large amount of cash on the sidelines. He thinks that investors have been under-invested in stocks and that the market is becoming less dependent on macro data.

Lee pointed out that the market has been able to shrug off negative news and that the recent PPI and CPI reports were not enough to knock the market off track. He believes that the Fed will continue to be dovish, especially since inflation is still tracking towards the 2% target. Lee also thinks that the election, which is becoming less of a coin toss, is also contributing to the market’s conviction.

Regarding the impact of the election on the market, Lee believes that markets like visibility, but they also need to like what they see on the other side of the election. He thinks that whether Trump or Harris wins, stocks will do well next year, but there will be differences in sector and asset class performance depending on who wins.

While some may be concerned about the market’s expensive valuation, others see it as a sign of strength and resilience, with that in context, let’s take a look at the 10 most profitable stocks of the last 10 years.

Our Methodology

To compile our list of the 10 most profitable stocks of the last 10 years, we used the Finviz and Yahoo stock screeners to compile an initial list of the 30 largest companies by market cap. From that list, we narrowed our choices to companies with positive TTM net income and 10-year net income growth informed by reputable sources, including SeekingAlpha, which provided insights into 10-year growth rates, and Macrotrends, which supplied information on trailing twelve-month (TTM) net income. Our list is sorted in ascending order of the 10-year net income growth rates.

Why do we care about what hedge funds do? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 smallcap and largecap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

A customer entering an internet retail store, illustrating the convenience of online shopping.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)

10-Year Net Income CAGR: 73.38%

TTM Net Income: $44.42 Billion

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 308

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) is a global e-commerce and cloud computing giant, offering a wide range of products and services. The company’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the market leader in cloud infrastructure, contributing significantly to the company’s profitability. Amazon.com’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) growth has been driven by its diverse business model, which includes e-commerce, logistics, entertainment (Prime Video), and artificial intelligence (Alexa). The company’s focus on customer satisfaction and innovation continues to fuel its dominance in multiple industries and is one of the largest companies in the world.

One of the key drivers of Amazon.com’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) growth is its leadership in the cloud computing market, with a 31% market share. The company’s cloud business is expected to continue to drive growth, driven by the increasing adoption of cloud computing and the growing demand for data storage and analytics. Additionally, Amazon.com’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) e-commerce business is expected to continue to benefit from the growing trend of online shopping, with the company’s strong logistics and supply chain capabilities allowing it to offer fast and reliable shipping to its customers.

Amazon’s innovative technologies, including its artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics capabilities, are also expected to drive growth and improve the company’s operating efficiency. The company’s AI-powered advertising platform, for example, has improved the effectiveness of its advertising business, while its robotics division has improved the efficiency of its logistics operations.

Furthermore, Amazon’s international expansion is expected to drive growth, with the company having lower penetration in certain regions. The company’s international segment has already started to show signs of improvement, with an operating margin of 5.63% in North America and 0.5% in international markets.

Amazon.com’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) strong fundamentals, diversified revenue streams, and innovative technologies make it an attractive investment opportunity. The company’s earnings are projected to increase by almost 48% in the current year. Industry analysts have reached a consensus on the stock’s Buy rating, with an average target price of $218.90 that suggests an 15.35% upside potential from its current levels.

Overall AMZN ranks 1st on our list of the most profitable stocks of the last 10 years. While we acknowledge the potential of AMZN as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AMZN but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.