Where Will Amazon Stock Be in 1 Year?

If you bought shares of Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) one year ago, you're up nearly 14% now. That's just barely beating the 13% return of the S 500, but anytime you can beat the market, even modestly, it's a good day. Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company's cloud-computing segment, is performing particularly well, as are its e-commerce operations. And in Q4, strong growth finally lifted the business past Walmart in size.

With 2024 net sales of $638 billion, Amazon is massive. But for investors who are wondering where the stock will be in one year, I'd argue that its net sales aren't the most important financial metric to watch. To the contrary, I believe that Amazon's operating income is the better financial metric.

A company's operating income represents only the profit produced by the business itself. For context, some businesses can earn some profits from things that aren't business related, such as investments. On the other side of the equation, sometimes a one-time tax bill or other unusual expense can sap the net profits of a company even when its business operations are profitable. The operating income metric leaves those non-core influences out, which is what sets it apart from other profit metrics.

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Source Fool.com