The Prime Numbers

Amazon Prime is booming, with like 180 million people in the US having a membership. That's a ton of folks who love getting their stuff fast and free. Think of it like a club, but instead of weird handshakes, you get super speedy deliveries and access to tons of cool shows and movies. All for a yearly fee (or a monthly splurge, if that's your jam).

For a price (think monthly splurge or annual fee, depending on your style), you get free shipping, exclusive deals, and access to Prime Video. It's pretty sweet, especially if you're constantly ordering things online (no judgment, we've all been there with the cat socks and fancy pickles).

The Stock Market Tango

Amazon's been doing great lately, kind of like it's dancing on top of the charts. The pandemic definitely helped, with everyone shopping online like crazy. But here's the kicker: Prime memberships actually slowed down a bit during that time. Some folks thought Amazon might have hit a wall, like a climber stuck on a tough ledge. But here's the twist: Prime membership growth flattened out during the pandemic. Some folks thought Amazon had hit a plateau, like a climber stuck on a tricky ledge.

But guess what? The recent data shows that 75% of US shoppers still have Prime memberships. That's a clear sign that Amazon is still gaining new subscribers. These folks believe their Amazon addiction justifies the investment in Prime. It's like saying, "Yeah, I order cat socks and artisanal pickles every week, but at least I get free shipping!"¹

Investing in the Amazon Jungle

Here's the lowdown: They're not just an online store anymore. They're a tech giant with their hands in everything, from cloud computing to streaming to even getting groceries delivered. Pretty wild, right? Here's why you might want to consider grabbing some AMZN stock (that's their ticker symbol):

1. E-Commerce Dominance: Amazon's e-commerce game is stronger than a double-shot espresso. People shop there for everything from dog food to inflatable unicorn floats. As long as humans crave convenience (and unicorns), Amazon's got a seat at the table.

2. Cloud Magic: Amazon Web Services (AWS) is like the wizard behind the curtain. It powers half the internet, including Netflix, NASA, and your neighbor's cat blog. AWS revenue keeps climbing, like a mountain goat scaling Everest.

3. Prime Addiction: Remember those 180 million Prime members? They're not going anywhere. Prime's sticky like caramel on a hot day. Plus, Amazon keeps adding perks, like free grocery delivery and early access to Black Friday deals.

4. Innovation Galore: Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder, loves crazy ideas. Think drones delivering packages, cashier-less stores, and Alexa reading bedtime stories. If you're into futuristic stuff, Amazon's your playground.

5. Risk Alert: Investing can be risky, and Amazon has competition to keep an eye on (Walmart and Alibaba, anyone?). Plus, things can change fast in the world of business. So, don't expect overnight success – investing is a marathon, not a sprint.

In a groundbreaking move, Amazon.com Inc. is set to pour a staggering sum of up to $4 billion into Anthropic, the renowned AI startup behind the innovative Claude chatbot. Founded by the dynamic sibling duo, Dario and Daniela Amodei, both former OpenAI stalwarts, Anthropic has been making waves in the world of artificial intelligence.

With this investment, Amazon is positioning itself to go head-to-head with the formidable forces of Microsoft-backed ChatGPT and Google's Bard.

The narrative of Anthropic, as crafted by the Amodei siblings, is one of passion, innovation, and the relentless pursuit of excellence. Anthropic gains not only a substantial influx of resources but also the invaluable expertise and infrastructure that Amazon brings to the table. This synergy of talents and resources could very well birth the next generation of AI breakthroughs.

The massive and much sought after cloud infrastructure market continues to be the AWS cup of tea, this quarter reveals. The businesses of Microsoft, Google, Alibaba and other big players continue to grow at an exponential rate. Despite this, however, these companies have not created a significant dent on AWS' firm hold of the cloud infrastructure market.

In fact, Amazon's cloud computing arm seems to have cut its teeth on 35% of the cloud infrastructure market despite relentless competition from the big guys. For example, Microsoft has a USD $20 billion run rate. But that is mainly from software instead of the cloud infrastructure market.

That's why it's so important to compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges. And when all is said and done, that AWS spell on the cloud infrastructure market remains stronger than ever. This scenario has led Synergy to declare that the Amazon company is on a league of its own.

During the last quarter, hedge fund traders were bullish on five stocks in the area of Consumer Services. These five stocks include McDonalds, Comcast, Liberty Global, Charter Communications, and Amazon.com. Insider Monkey which composes a small cap strategy portfolio of stocks, takes the best of the hedge fund picks, and puts them together. Their strategy has returned 118% since the middle of 2012, beating the S&P 500 by almost 100% according to the company. These stocks are some of that portfolio.

Amazon has been a strong performer and hedge funds piled into the stock during the period ending June 30th. The company started delivering packages on Sundays and Holidays through the United State Postal Service. The only downside is the companies lack of strong profits and a small lawsuit from authors that are feeling squeezed by the retail giant.

Given the increase sales demands generated in part by features such as Amazon Prime, Amazon.com Inc. has recently announced plans to open a New Jersey fulfillment center.  As one of the top U.S. online retailers with growth projections continuing to increase, Amazon recently released holiday sales numbers that were more favorable than predicted and that generate a real need for increased production facilities for packing and shipping of merchandise.  In addition, Amazon announced that it plans to further expand its services in Canada by offering Amazon Prime services there in the near future, giving Canadian customers access to the same shipping savings options as U.S. customers.