Amazon shares track the S&P 500 year to date while cash from operations climbs to $161 billion
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) shares have gained roughly 12% year to date, tracking the S&P 500, while the company's trailing-12-month cash from operations climbed to $161 billion in the second quarter. That cash base has grown…
Key takeaways
- Amazon (AMZN) shares have gained roughly 12% year to date, tracking the S&P 500.
- Amazon's trailing-12-month cash from operations climbed to $161 billion in the second quarter, up 245% since the 2022 bear market.
- Amazon's price-to-cash-flow multiple sits at roughly 17x, below the 25x floor it held before the 2022 downturn.
- AWS revenue grew 37% year over year in Q2 (excluding currency changes), while online retail revenue grew 15% in the same quarter.
- The AWS revenue growth rate is the variable most likely to shift the market's read on the 17x cash flow multiple.
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) shares have gained roughly 12% year to date, tracking the S&P 500, while the company's trailing-12-month cash from operations climbed to $161 billion in the second quarter. That cash base has grown 245% since the 2022 bear market. The stock's price-to-cash-flow multiple now sits at roughly 17x, against the 25x floor the stock held before that downturn.
The multiple gap
Before 2022, Amazon traded at 25x cash flow or higher. It has not returned to those levels since, even as the underlying business changed substantially. Warehouse automation drove costs lower and cloud computing revenue expanded, together pushing cash from operations up 245% over that span. The shares have nearly doubled over the past three years, but the multiple never recovered alongside that price appreciation.
The 12% year-to-date gain, running in line with the broader index, has done nothing to close the gap. At roughly 17x cash flow, the stock is pricing Amazon's current cash generation at a level the market last assigned to a smaller, less cash-generative version of the same business.
AWS and e-commerce both gaining speed
Amazon Web Services is the company's largest profit contributor. AWS revenue grew 37% year over year in the second quarter, excluding currency changes. The pace is accelerating in 2026, and the installed base is substantial: customers already run large amounts of data and applications on AWS, giving Amazon a direct position in the growing demand for AI cloud services. Further AWS growth is expected to translate into higher cash flow over time.
The core e-commerce operation is also gaining speed. Online retail revenue grew 15% year over year in Q2, the same quarter AWS posted 37% growth. Both of Amazon's two largest businesses are accelerating at the same time.
What to watch is the AWS revenue print next quarter. At 37%, the current growth rate is the variable most likely to shift the market's read on the 17x cash flow multiple.