Amazon Shares Rise After FTC Complaint and Citi Buy Call

The FTC, joined by attorneys general from 22 states, sued Amazon in Seattle over alleged hidden ad markups, saying the company quietly raised the cost of sponsored-product ads over seven years and may have taken billions from advertisers. Amazon has denied wrongdoing and said the case is misguided, but the complaint adds another regulatory overhang for a company already navigating antitrust scrutiny and consumer settlement costs.

Investors, however, are focused on the numbers that still support the bull case. In the second quarter, Amazon reported revenue of $200.6 billion, up 20% from a year earlier, while operating income rose to $27.5 billion. AWS grew 37% to an annualized revenue rate of $169 billion, and advertising revenue climbed 26%, reinforcing the view that the company’s most profitable businesses remain intact.

Citi says AI demand should accelerate AWS growth in the second half of 2026 and that Amazon is also gaining share in retail through Agentic Commerce and Alexa Shopping. The bank values the stock at about 23.5 times its 2027 earnings estimate of $11.06 a share, with the $350 target implying roughly 31.5 times forward earnings and an 11 times enterprise value-to-EBITDA multiple, which Citi says sits at the low end of Amazon’s historical range.

The broader analyst backdrop remains constructive. TipRanks data cited in the report show 39 Buy ratings and one Hold across 40 covering firms, with a median target of $333.89. Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Bernstein also kept Buy ratings in September, with targets between $320 and $338.

The stock has been volatile, falling more than 2% over five days before stabilizing around $251.19 on Thursday and edging higher in premarket trading Friday. The next catalyst is Amazon’s scheduled earnings report on Oct. 29, when investors will look for signs that ad demand and AWS spending remain resilient despite the FTC case.