Amazon vs. Shopify: A Tale of Two E-commerce Giants

Amazon and Shopify are two of the leading e-commerce companies, but they offer very different value propositions to investors. While Amazon operates a vast retail and technology empire, Shopify provides software tools that allow businesses to run their own independent storefronts.

Amazon's revenue reached nearly $716.9 billion in FY 2025, with a growth rate of approximately 12.4% compared to the prior year. The company's net income was close to $77.7 billion, resulting in a net margin of roughly 10.8%. Amazon's debt-to-equity ratio is around 0.4x, indicating a moderate use of borrowing.

Shopify, on the other hand, serves as the back-end engine for millions of merchants across more than 175 countries, providing tools for payments, shipping, and marketing. The company's revenue reached roughly $11.6 billion in FY 2025, marking a significant 30.1% increase over the previous year. Shopify's net income was approximately $1.2 billion for the period, resulting in a net margin of roughly 10.7%. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.0x, indicating negligible total debt relative to its equity.

While Amazon faces intense global competition and regulatory scrutiny, Shopify operates in a crowded market for commerce software and must innovate constantly to prevent merchants from moving to rivals. However, Shopify's high-growth alternative is impressive, with free cash flow reaching close to $2 billion in 2025. In contrast, Amazon expects to spend around $200 billion in Capex for 2026 to expand AI and cloud capacity.