Amazon Trumps Alibaba as Best Consumer Stock Amid Regulatory Risks
Amazon and Alibaba are two of the largest e-commerce companies in the world. Amazon dominates North American retail and global cloud infrastructure through its AWS segment, while Alibaba serves as a central pillar of Chinese digital commerce.
The case for Amazon is strong, with revenue reaching nearly $716.9 billion in 2025, representing growth of approximately 12.4% over the prior year. The company reported net income of roughly $77.7 billion for this period, resulting in a net margin of close to 10.8%. Amazon's debt-to-equity ratio is approximately 0.4x, and its current ratio is nearly 1.1x.
However, Alibaba also has its strengths. The company prioritizes an integrated approach to commerce and technology by focusing on cloud computing and artificial intelligence. In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, revenue reached approximately $152.7 billion, representing nearly 2.7% growth over the previous year.
Despite Alibaba's market leadership in China and low valuation, it comes with a great deal of political risk. The Chinese government might impose regulations or restrictions that create uncertainty for its business. In contrast, Amazon has pioneered e-commerce and cloud computing and built one of the most stable and profitable businesses trading on public markets today.
The 19.5 forward P/E ratio is unusually low for a stock that routinely traded above 50 times earnings in past years. This discounts Amazon to only a modest earnings multiple premium to Alibaba, making it arguably the consumer discretionary stock of choice among the two.