Jim Cramer Thinks Amazon Stock’s a Buy After Doing Nothing All Year. Why He’s Absolutely Right.

Mad Money host Jim Cramer doesn’t yet appear ready to give up on shares of Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), even after lagging most of its peers in the Magnificent Seven basket. Undoubtedly, where others see a slower-growing hyperscaler with AI capabilities that are dragging, others might see an opportunity. After rising just over 5% in the past year, it’s getting pretty easy to give up on the e-commerce titan, especially as hotter momentum plays in big tech look to hit the ground running in 2026.

In any case, I do think Cramer is right on the money to stick with Amazon after a year of market-trailing returns. Perhaps it’s an even better buy after dragging its feet through 2025, while some of its rivals, such as Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), went on to clock in big gains while ascending in the market cap rankings. Of course, there are unique challenges for Amazon to tackle as the AI revolution faces more adoption and perhaps better monetization prospects in the new year. Still, it’s hard to go against Cramer’s bullishness on Amazon, even if it’s not the most exciting of the mega-cap tech plays. 

Jim Cramer is wise to stick with the e-tail and cloud titan despite a weak 2025

With a new year and a new slate of expectations, perhaps Amazon has all the makings of a comeback stock that’s ready to make up for lost time. At this juncture, some of Amazon’s longer-term drivers might have more light shone on them. In a prior piece, I highlighted the new trio of AI agents that Amazon unveiled and how they could bolster the firm’s position in the AI enterprise race.

With shares hovering just north of 32 times trailing price-to-earnings (P/E), it certainly seems like Amazon stock is a cheaper way to bet on AI than many of its rivals. Perhaps betting on the more affordable (lower P/E multiple) Mag Seven stocks could be the strategy to do well over the medium- to long-term. Either way, Cramer is smart to highlight the company’s dominance in retail, cloud services, and all the sort.

While the rest of the market might continue to overlook the firm’s potential, I do think that it’s the quarterly earnings that will determine where shares of Amazon ultimately go from here. And with no shortage of drivers and potential tailwinds, Amazon stock looks more like a buy because of a rough 2025.

This sell-side analyst sees Amazon stock as rich with catalysts—he’s right.

Cramer isn’t the only bull on Amazon stock going into 2026, either. Evercore ISI’s Mark Mahaney likes the name enough to name it as one of his top picks in the large-cap tech scene. The “high-quality compounder” has a handful of catalysts that could power serious upside in the new year. Mahaney is looking to the $335 range, which is just five dollars shy of the current Street-high target on the name. If Maheney’s price target is hit in the new year, investors might just be looking at a gain in the ballpark of 45%.

Undoubtedly, if Amazon is to power such a move, Amazon Web Services (AWS) will need to pick up traction. While AWS is a behemoth in the public cloud, it’s no longer the hottest growth engine on the scene. The big upside could come from a re-acceleration as AI adoption takes things up a notch. As more firms pivot and get more aggressive with their AI strategies while embracing agentic AI, I see room for AWS to pick up momentum in the new year. Combined with Amazon’s grocery push and other AI efforts (Alexa+, its Trainium and Inferentia chips, and, of course, e-commerce), there’s a lot that could fuel an upside surprise in future quarters.

Either way, it feels like investors aren’t appreciating the drivers for what they’re worth. While Amazon has a lot to prove in 2026 if it’s to stay magnificent, I certainly wouldn’t bet against CEO Andy Jassy and his team as they look to deliver against expectations that I find to be a tad on the conservative side.