Amazon AMZN enters the back half of 2026 with fresh momentum behind its Prime ecosystem, as recent programming and delivery announcements reinforce the loyalty engine underpinning the stock’s retail narrative. On Aug. 13, 2026, Prime Video unveiled its full 2026-27 NBA on Prime schedule, its second season under the 11-year media rights agreement, featuring five weeks of Emirates NBA Cup doubleheaders, a Black Friday game, the SoFi Play-In Tournament in April 2027, and — for the first time — an exclusive presentation of the Eastern Conference Finals. This expands on a slate that already includes WNBA coverage and a growing pipeline of Amazon MGM Studios originals extending into 2027, giving subscribers fresh reasons to renew.
The strategy is already translating into subscriber traction. In its second-quarter 2026 earnings report, released July 30, Amazon disclosed double-digit year-over-year growth in Prime membership, alongside a more than 40% increase in items delivered same-day or overnight to Prime members in the first half of the year. Paid unit growth of 17% year over year further points to deepening customer engagement. Advertising revenues, increasingly tied to Prime Video’s ad-supported tier and sponsored placements, climbed 26% to $19.8 billion, while Alexa+ expanded to four additional countries with users spending 40% more per order.
These trends helped drive overall net sales of $200.6 billion in the quarter, up 20% year over year excluding currency effects, with North America revenues rising 16% to $116.2 billion. For the third quarter, Amazon has guided to net sales between $197 billion and $202 billion. With grocery delivery expanding, live sports rights deepening, and membership growth holding steady, Amazon’s Prime flywheel continues to strengthen the retail and advertising engines feeding its bottom line.
How Rivals Walmart and Netflix Compare on Membership Loyalty
Walmart WMT and Netflix NFLX offer useful benchmarks for Amazon’s membership-driven strategy. Walmart reported double-digit membership fee revenue growth in its fiscal second quarter of 2027, with Walmart+ net adds reaching a quarterly high and Sam’s Club also posting steady member gains. Netflix, meanwhile, delivered 13% year-over-year revenue growth in its second quarter of 2026, driven by membership growth, pricing increases, and expanding advertising revenues, even as Netflix stopped disclosing subscriber counts. Both Walmart and Netflix underscore that subscription loyalty, alongside Amazon’s Prime ecosystem, remains a central battleground for U.S. consumer-facing companies in 2026.
AMZN’s Share Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
Amazon shares have returned 15.4% in the year-to-date period compared with the Zacks Internet – Commerce industry and the Zacks Retail-Wholesale sector’s growth of 7.7% and 2.7%, respectively.
AMZN’s Year-to-date Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, AMZN stock appears overvalued, trading at a forward 12-month price/earnings ratio of 23.35X, higher than the industry’s 22.13X. Amazon has a Value Score of D.
AMZN’s Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMZN’s 2026 earnings is pegged at $13.06 per share, indicating an 82.15% increase from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.
Amazon.com, Inc. Price and Consensus
Amazon.com, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Amazon.com, Inc. Quote
Amazon currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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