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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
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Should Investors Buy Amazon Stock Ahead of Q2 Earnings Release?
Amazon AMZN is scheduled to report second-quarter 2025 results on July the second quarter, Amazon expects net sales between $159 billion and $164 billion, or to grow in the range of 7-11% compared with second-quarter 2024. This guidance anticipates an unfavorable impact of approximately 10 basis points from foreign exchange Zacks Consensus Estimate for net sales is pegged at $162.28 billion, indicating growth of 9.67% from the prior-year quarter's reported Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter earnings is pegged at $1.33 per share, which indicates growth of 8.13% from the year-ago quarter. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The company has been benefiting from its dominant position in the e-commerce and cloud markets. It is also riding on strengthening generative AI capabilities. AMZN's Earnings Surprise History Amazon has an impressive earnings surprise history. In the last reported quarter, the company delivered an earnings surprise of 17.78%. The company's earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 20.68%. Inc. Price and EPS Surprise Inc. price-eps-surprise | Inc. Quote Earnings Whispers for AMZN Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for Amazon this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP has an Earnings ESP of +7.37% and sports a Zacks Rank #1 at present. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Factors Shaping AMZN's Q2 Results As Amazon prepared to report its second-quarter 2025 earnings, multiple catalysts positioned the company for strong performance across its diversified business segments. The e-commerce giant entered the quarter with robust momentum from its first-quarter results, which delivered $155.7 billion in net sales and demonstrated the company's ability to navigate macroeconomic headwinds while maintaining growth trajectories. AWS and AI Initiatives Amazon Web Services continued to assert its dominance in the cloud computing space, with the company's AI initiatives gaining significant traction during the second quarter. Our model estimate for AWS revenues indicates 16.9% year-over-year growth to $30.72 billion in the to-be-reported quarter. The launch of Amazon Nova models is expected to have gained momentum throughout the quarter under review, with the newly introduced Nova Sonic speech-to-speech foundation model and Nova Act SDK enabling developers to build more sophisticated voice-based AI applications and action-oriented agents. These technological advances positioned AWS to capture increased demand from enterprises, accelerating their AI adoption, supporting expectations for continued strong revenue growth in the cloud rollout of Trainium 2 chips accelerated in the second quarter, offering customers 30-40% better price performance compared with GPU-based instances, which is expected to have strengthened AWS' competitive positioning in the rapidly expanding AI infrastructure market against its strong contenders like Microsoft MSFT, Alphabet GOOGL and Oracle ORCL. Advertising, E-commerce and Physical Retail Growth in Q2 Amazon's advertising business demonstrated robust growth with first-quarter revenues of $13.9 billion, up 19% year over year, indicating strong advertiser demand and effective monetization of the company's vast customer base. The advertising platform's reach extended to more than 275 million users in the United States alone, providing significant scale for brand partners. This momentum is expected to have continued into the second quarter as Amazon expanded its full-funnel advertising capabilities across Prime Video, Twitch, and other entertainment e-commerce segment is expected to have benefited from improved fulfillment network efficiency following the redesigned inbound architecture implemented in the first quarter. This optimization enabled faster delivery speeds and better inventory placement, which traditionally drives higher customer satisfaction and increased purchase frequency. The company's focus on everyday essentials proved particularly valuable, with this category growing more than twice as fast as the overall business and representing one-third of units sold in the United States. Our model estimate for revenues from online stores is pegged at $60.2 billion, indicating an 8.8% year-over-year physical retail operations are expected to show healthy growth, with model estimates projecting physical store sales of $5.38 billion, indicating a 3.4% year-over-year increase. The integration of technologies like Amazon Dash Cart into brick-and-mortar locations strengthens the company's omnichannel seller services remain a significant growth driver with model estimates pegged at $39.1 billion, indicating an 8.3% year-over-year increase. This reflects Amazon's continued success in monetizing its marketplace platform and fulfillment services. Prime Day and Enhanced Customer Experience The company's redesigned inbound network architecture, which improved inventory placement and delivery speeds, enhanced the customer experience during this high-volume period. Amazon achieved record delivery speeds for Prime members in the first quarter, setting a strong foundation for the quarter under introduction of Alexa+, Amazon's next-generation personal assistant, began gaining traction with more than 100,000 users during its initial rollout. This enhanced AI-powered assistant, which can both answer questions and take actions, represented a significant advancement in smart home technology and positioned Amazon to capture additional market share in the growing voice assistant market. International Expansion and Innovation Amazon's international operations showed resilience with 8% growth excluding foreign exchange impacts in the first quarter, and the second quarter included the launch of in Ireland, expanding the company's European footprint. The introduction of luxury shopping through Saks on Amazon and partnerships with brands like Michael Kors and The Ordinary diversified the product offering and attracted new customer Kuiper reached a significant milestone with successful satellite launches, positioning Amazon to begin customer service later in 2025. This initiative represented a substantial long-term growth opportunity in the broadband connectivity market, particularly for underserved rural areas. The company's continued investment in logistics infrastructure, including the $4 billion commitment to expand rural delivery networks, was expected to enhance competitive advantages and customer reach in the second quarter and beyond. AMZN Price Performance & Stock Valuation Shares of Amazon have gained 5.5% in the year-to-date period compared with the broader Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector and the S&P 500 index's increase of 6.9% and 8.2%, respectively. AMZN's Year-to-Date Performance Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Now, let's look at the value Amazon offers investors at current levels. AMZN is trading at a premium with a forward 12-month P/S of 3.34X compared with the Zacks Internet - Commerce industry's 2.17X, reflecting a stretched valuation. AMZN's P/S F12M Ratio Depicts Stretched Valuation Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Investment Thesis Amazon's diversified ecosystem positions it as a compelling buy despite premium valuation, with AWS expected to deliver strong 16.9% growth to $30.72 billion in second-quarter 2025, driven by accelerating AI adoption through Nova models and cost-effective Trainium 2 chips. The company's advertising segment maintains robust 19% growth momentum while e-commerce benefits from optimized fulfillment networks, achieving record delivery speeds. International expansion through and luxury partnerships diversifies revenue streams. While facing intense competition from Microsoft, Alphabet, and Oracle, Amazon's integrated platform spanning cloud, retail, and emerging technologies like Project Kuiper creates sustainable competitive advantages justifying current valuations for long-term investors. Conclusion Amazon's diversified business model, spanning high-growth AWS cloud services, robust advertising momentum, and optimized e-commerce operations, creates multiple revenue catalysts ahead of second-quarter 2025 earnings. The company's strategic investments in AI infrastructure, international expansion, and next-generation technologies like Project Kuiper establish sustainable competitive moats. Despite premium valuations, Amazon's integrated ecosystem and growth trajectory make it an attractive buy for investors. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Oracle Corporation (ORCL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Vonage's AWS Partnership Aims to Amp AI-Based Voice Communications
Vonage is dialing up voice-based artificial intelligence solutions. The cloud communications company announced this week that it would integrate Amazon Nova Sonic, powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS). Nova Sonic is a foundation model that uses human speech as input, then responds via an AI-powered voice agent. More from Sourcing Journal OpenAI Reportedly Works to Monetize ChatGPT's Shopping Function By Taking Commission Byte-Sized AI: Intel Spinout Creates Components for Physical AI; Bonx Grabs $8M for Manufacturing ERPs Chain Reaction: Asendia's Hendrick Kummeling on Why Strategic Flexibility is the Best Defense Against the Uncontrollable The idea is that, because Vonage's platform is set up to be able to use other developers' solutions, AWS can easily help the company implement Nova Sonic, which Vonage will use to allow clients to 'deploy real-time, natural-sounding AI voice agents' across several customer service channels: phone conversations, mobile apps and other services. Vonage anticipates that, in doing so, clients can provide a more human-like experience to their consumers, while enlisting AI-based tools to handle concerns that don't require immediate human intervention. That approach could help companies increase the efficiency of their human customer service operators, while also satisfying end consumers by providing quicker-turnaround answers to simple questions. Nova Sonic can answer consumers' questions quickly and expressively, AWS contends, noting that it tracks consumer sentiment throughout the duration of the call or chat to adjust its tone, pitch and approach accordingly based on the context of the interaction. Vonage's application programming interface (API) is set up such that Nova Sonic can be integrated directly, which helps reduce concerns over processing times and connection issues. Because of those considerations, Vonage and AWS said they have reason to believe the end solution will be scalable for businesses of varying sizes—and for several use cases. For instance, a major retailer might use the voice AI technology to assist a customer with a standard return, while a small-to-medium brand might prefer to use it to arrange in-store pickups with a consumer. Since the technology has access to a company's business insights in real time, it can adapt to meet the needs of many scenarios with natural language. That also means that complicated dial menus could become a thing of the past for adopters. Nova Sonic, paired with Vonage Voice API, can handle both inbound and outbound calls—that is to say that, while it can tackle customer queries, it can also call customers directly for pickup reminders, item confirmations and follow-up information from previous customer service calls as needed. Christophe Van de Weyer, president and head of business unit API at Vonage, said the companies' partnership will help Vonage customers deliver more practical AI-based consumer interactions. 'Vonage's latest collaboration with AWS enables organizations to transform how they engage with customers by adopting generative AI solutions that create added value for internal and external communications,' Van de Weyer said in a statement. 'This technology enables businesses to streamline the adoption of intelligent agents, accelerate the modernization of legacy voice systems, and provide a robust platform to deliver exceptional customer experiences with measurable improvements in satisfaction and operational efficiency.' Today, Nova Sonic is available in English, Spanish, French, Italian and German and offers both masculine and feminine intonations for voice agents assisting consumers. The companies' announcement did not address the capability for voice-based AI agents to speak with other AI agents in the future, but some companies have started planning for that. While what AWS and Vonage rolled out pertains mostly to front-end, consumer-facing operations, AI agents have shown more promise for back office processes, like tracking and rerouting shipments or alerting supply chain teams to factory delays and offering solutions. Flexport has actively started using AI agents to inquire with partners about the status of shipments, and CEO Ryan Petersen told Sourcing Journal this year that it's possible agents could begin speaking with one another—and consequently negotiating with one another on behalf of their respective companies. AWS and Vonage's partnership aims to create more accessible pathways for 'organizations to deploy intelligent voice agents at scale,' both companies said in the announcement. Once scaled for one use case—in this example, customer service—clients may eventually leverage voice-based AI agents for internal growth and business management. Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Wire
03-07-2025
- Health
- Business Wire
ScienceSoft Raises the Bar for AI Voice Scheduling in Healthcare
MCKINNEY, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Human-Like, Real-Time AI Scheduler launched by ScienceSoft ScienceSoft's AI assistant processes 70% more scheduling requests per hour than a human and reduces booking time by 40%. Share ScienceSoft has introduced a HIPAA-compliant AI scheduling assistant that enables natural, human-like conversations with patients. Built on the first-ever integration of Amazon's Nova Sonic speech-to-speech model and the LiveKit Media Server, the assistant supports real-time voice interaction and seamless data exchange with hospital systems. What sets the assistant apart is how it communicates. Most voice agents process speech in separate steps, which slows down the conversation and makes it sound robotic. The model behind our agent is the first to support bidirectional streaming through a single API, enabling listening and responding in real time without delays or awkward pauses. So, the patients get a whole new level of experience. They speak normally and get a timely, helpful response, without the friction they've come to expect from automated systems. The system handles both incoming and outgoing calls, verifies patient identity, checks provider availability, and updates hospital systems during the call. Integration with EHR, CRM, and practice management platforms ensures appointments are confirmed or changed on the spot, without follow-up. The scheduler runs in a secure, HIPAA-compliant cloud environment and is monitored with tools like Amazon Bedrock Guardrails and AWS Macie. Our estimations show the agent can potentially reduce appointment booking time by 40%, cut call abandonment rates by 30%, and lower operational costs by at least 50%. As it can handle multiple calls simultaneously, it is expected to process 70% more calls per hour than a patient service representative. Looking for Insider IT Info? ScienceSoft experts are ready to share practical insights into healthcare technology and patient-facing solutions. Learn how technology is reshaping the way providers interact with patients.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
5 No-Brainer AI Stocks to Buy in May
Artificial intelligence (AI) could be the most significant economic transformation since the internet. These five companies offer strategic exposure to different aspects of the AI value chain, from chips and infrastructure to specialized applications. 10 stocks we like better than Advanced Micro Devices › Artificial intelligence (AI) may be the most transformative technological revolution since the advent of the internet. Economic forecasts project that AI could add $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, fundamentally reshaping industries from healthcare and finance to manufacturing and entertainment. Unlike previous technological shifts, AI's unique capacity for autonomous learning, decision-making, and problem-solving creates exponential value across virtually every sector of the economy. This unprecedented economic potential has ignited a global race for AI dominance among corporations and nations alike. For investors seeking exposure to this technological revolution, the following five companies represent compelling opportunities. Read on to find out more about these incredible AI pioneers. Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) is gaining ground on Nvidia with its new MI325X AI accelerator, boasting massive memory bandwidth and strong generative AI performance. Microsoft plans to deploy the chip across its Azure cloud, giving AMD a powerful boost in visibility and adoption. With demand for AI infrastructure surging and AMD offering a more cost-effective alternative to Nvidia's H100 and H200, this stock stands out as a high-upside pick in the accelerating AI race. Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) continues to lead in AI infrastructure through its Amazon Web Services (AWS) division, which reported $29.3 billion in revenue for first-quarter 2025, marking a 17% year-over-year increase. AWS has expanded its AI offerings with its Nova family of models, including Nova Premier for complex reasoning tasks and Nova Sonic for speech-to-speech applications, enhancing its capabilities across both text and multimodal AI domains. In the consumer space, Amazon has integrated generative AI features across its platforms, with Nova Sonic already powering elements of Alexa+ and the widely available Rufus shopping assistant. Nova Sonic particularly stands out for its ability to understand speech in different speaking styles while generating natural-sounding responses, with Amazon claiming it achieves 46.7% better accuracy than competing models in noisy environments and maintains lower operating costs. With AWS positioned to grow beyond a "multi-$100-billion-dollar revenue run rate business" due to AI, according to CEO Andy Jassy, Amazon remains exceptionally well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for AI solutions across both enterprise and consumer markets. ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML) is the sole manufacturer of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, which are critical for producing the most advanced semiconductors used in AI applications. These machines enable the creation of chips with extremely fine features, essential for high-performance AI processing. ASML's unique position in the semiconductor supply chain makes it a pivotal player in the AI industry, regardless of which chip designers lead the market. Its functional monopoly on EUV lithography also gives the company a formidable economic moat. Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: APLD) develops high-performance data centers tailored for AI workloads. These facilities are built to support dense deployments of graphics processing units (GPUs), which are essential for large-scale model training and inference. The company is expanding aggressively, with new campuses engineered for energy efficiency and advanced cooling. As demand for AI compute surges across sectors, Applied Digital is positioned to benefit by providing scalable, cost-effective infrastructure to enterprise and cloud clients. This makes it a compelling infrastructure-level play in the AI buildout. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) has shifted from an AI underdog to a front-runner with the release of its Llama 4 family of open-source models. The company's new multimodal systems -- Llama 4 Scout and Maverick -- can process text, images, video, and audio, and a larger "Behemoth" model is in training to rival the best in class. This surge in AI development is translating to real-world results. Meta AI now serves nearly 1 billion monthly active users across all Meta platforms combined, while WhatsApp's total user base exceeds 3 billion monthly users. WhatsApp has emerged as the primary platform where users engage with Meta AI, driving most one-on-one AI interactions. In April 2025, Meta launched a stand-alone Meta AI app, signaling its intent to compete head-on with OpenAI and Alphabet. The bottom line? Meta is well-positioned to lead in consumer AI -- and that fact makes its stock an attractive buy right now. Before you buy stock in Advanced Micro Devices, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Advanced Micro Devices wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $613,546!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $695,897!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 893% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 162% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 5, 2025 Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. George Budwell has positions in Microsoft and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends ASML, Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 5 No-Brainer AI Stocks to Buy in May was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Amazon.com (NasdaqGS:AMZN) Powers EHR Data Revolution With OMNY Health Partnership
Recently, introduced Nova Sonic, a new AI model poised to enhance the company's voice application capabilities. This development aligns with broader market trends where technology stocks saw gains. During the past week, Amazon's shares rose by 6%, contrasting with the broader market's relative stability. The rise in Amazon's stock may have been influenced by this AI advancement, in conjunction with a positive overall tech sector performance, amidst volatile market conditions that saw fluctuating tariff news and economic data affecting investor sentiment. Buy, Hold or Sell View our complete analysis and fair value estimate and you decide. Uncover 12 companies that survived and thrived after COVID and have the right ingredients to survive Trump's tariffs. The recent announcement of Nova Sonic AI model could significantly influence the company's future prospects, particularly enhancing its voice application capabilities. This aligns with Amazon's broader strategy of integrating AI and automation across its retail and cloud services. Over the past five years, Amazon's total return, including share price and dividends, reached 52.61%, showcasing robust long-term performance. This increase contrasts with the past year, during which Amazon underperformed the U.S. Multiline Retail industry that showed no change. The short-term share price gain of 6% potentially reflects optimism around recent developments, although it remains below the consensus price target of US$261.79, indicating potential upside from its current price. This AI advancement, along with ongoing investments in fulfillment automation and AWS, could bolster revenue and earnings projections. Analysts expect Amazon's revenue to grow annually by 9.8% over the next three years, with earnings projected to rise from US$59.25 billion to as much as US$103.9 billion by April 2028. However, these forecasts depend on numerous variables, including capital expenditure and market conditions, which could impact profitability. This underscores the consensus view that Amazon's share price could see significant appreciation, as the current market price [US$170.66] holds a considerable discount to the analyst price target. Learn about historical performance here. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include NasdaqGS:AMZN. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@
