Stock · E-commerce and cloud
Amazon real return vs inflation and money printing AMZN
Amazon.com Inc. Online retailer and owner of Amazon Web Services, the largest cloud infrastructure provider.
Key numbers
- 1-month change
- +0.8%
- Volatility (30-day, annualised)
- 23.5%
Amazon real return after inflation and money printing
In dollars and pounds, before and after inflation, since May 1997.
+2,415%Amazon after US inflation since 201021.1% a year
Up 3,802% in dollars since 2010. After US inflation, up 2,415%. Against money printing, up 1,323%.
In pounds, up 4,666%, or up 2,821% after UK inflation.
- $ nominal
- +3,802%24.3% a year
- £ nominal
- +4,666%25.8% a year
- Real $ (US CPI)
- +2,415%21.1% a year
- Real £ (UK CPI)
- +2,821%22.2% a year
- vs US M2
- +1,323%17.1% a year
- Measured from
- Dec 2009to Oct 2026, 16 years 10 months
- Amazon, Real $ (US CPI)$262.40
- $ nominal$262.40
- Oct 2026, latest
Loading the chart. Every figure is also in the table below.
| Period | $ nominal | £ nominal | Real $ (US CPI) | Real £ (UK CPI) | vs US M2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Past year from Oct 2025 | +7.5% | +6.7% | –a (see note a) | +3.9% | +2.4% |
| 5 years from Oct 2021 | +55.6% 9.2% a year | +60.9% 10.0% a year | +28.5% 5.1% a year | +27.3% 4.9% a year | +41.1% 7.1% a year |
| Since 2020 from Dec 2019 | +184% 16.5% a year | +185% 16.6% a year | +118% 12.1% a year | +115% 11.9% a year | +86.8% 9.6% a year |
| 10 years from Oct 2016 | +565% 20.9% a year | +513% 19.9% a year | +380% 17.0% a year | +332% 15.8% a year | +274% 14.1% a year |
| Since 2010 from Dec 2009 | +3,802% 24.3% a year | +4,666% 25.8% a year | +2,415% 21.1% a year | +2,821% 22.2% a year | +1,323% 17.1% a year |
| Since 2000 from Dec 1999 | +6,795% 17.1% a year | +8,314% 18.0% a year | +3,364% 14.1% a year | +4,154% 15.0% a year | +1,270% 10.2% a year |
| Since May 1997 first month in our data | +349,807% 32.0% a year | +432,458% 32.9% a year | +167,134% 28.7% a year | +210,757% 29.7% a year | +58,218% 24.2% a year |
- a US CPI was not published for Oct 2025.
How these figures are worked out
Sources, inflation measures and what is left out
- Month-end closes from Yahoo Finance, Nasdaq, May 1997 to Oct 2026. Oct 2026 is still in progress, so its figure is the latest close rather than a month-end. Our history for Amazon starts in May 1997, so longer windows are left out.
- Real figures divide by US CPI (BLS, via FRED) or UK CPI (ONS, joined to the ONS long-run RPI before Jan 1988) and are stated in Oct 2026 money. The M2 lens divides by the US M2 money supply (Federal Reserve, via FRED). Pounds convert at each month's GBP/USD rate.
- US CPI is published with a lag: Oct 2026 uses the Aug 2026 figure.
- UK CPI is published with a lag: Oct 2026 uses the Aug 2026 figure.
- US M2 is published with a lag: Oct 2026 uses the Aug 2026 figure.
- Price returns only: dividends are not included, so the total return to a holder who reinvested them was higher.
- A return of 12 months or more also shows its yearly rate. Gaps in a source are left as gaps and never filled in.
Amazon price history, past year
Daily closes from Nasdaq. Last refreshed .
Where Amazon stands today
52-week range
- Below the high
- 8.9%
- Above the low
- 30.2%
Amazon sits in the middle part of its range, 30.2% above the $198.79 low from 13 Feb 2026 and 8.9% below the $284.02 high from 3 Aug 2026. About 80% of the year's daily closes were lower than today's price.
Moving averages
- 50-day$258.35 +0.2%
- 200-day$242.42 +6.7%
Price compared with each average. Bars to the right mean the price is above it.
Amazon is 0.2% above its 50-day average and 6.7% above its 200-day average, so on both the shorter and the longer view the trend we measure is still pointing up. The 50-day line has stayed above the 200-day on every day since 24 Jun 2026, as far back as our data lets us check.
Trend score
- Trend100
- Momentum58
- RSI score87
- Drawdown82
- Uptrend
- 65 or more
- Sideways
- 36 to 64
- Downtrend
- 35 or less
Rules-based, from 277 daily prices. It describes the trend so far and does not predict the next move. How it works.
Amazon performance and biggest moves
Returns over time
| Period | AMZN | SPY | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 week | +1.0% | -0.1% | +1.0 pts |
| 1 month | +0.8% | +1.9% | −1.1 pts |
| 3 months | +1.5% | +3.1% | −1.6 pts |
| Year to date | +12.1% | +14.2% | −2.1 pts |
| 1 year | +17.6% | +17.4% | +0.2 pts |
Amazon is up 17.6% over the past year on price alone, against +17.4% for the S&P 500 (through the SPY fund), so it has beaten that comparison by 0.2 percentage points. Dividends are not included, so the total return for holders would be a little higher.
Best and worst days in the past year
- Days that closed higher
- 51%
- Moves of 3% or more
- 29
The biggest one-day rise since 13 Oct 2025 came on 31 Jul 2026 (+15.3%) and the sharpest fall on 6 Feb 2026 (−5.6%). Of the 251 trading days in that period, 51% closed higher than the day before and 29 moved by 3% or more in one direction or the other.
Is Amazon overbought, and how volatile is it?
RSI (14-day)
Neutral- Sessions at 70+ (past year)
- 23
- Sessions at 30 or lower
- 7
Amazon's RSI of 54.6 is near the middle of the scale, which tells us the up and down days of the last three weeks have more or less cancelled each other out. For context, it last went above 70 on 3 Aug 2026 and last fell below 30 on 17 Feb 2026.
Volatility against other US shares
13th most volatile of 27- Typical daily move
- 1.5%
- Calmest in group
- BRK.B 10.8%
Amazon's 30-day volatility is 23.5%, which works out at a move of roughly 1.5% on an ordinary day. That makes it the 13th most volatile of the 27 US shares we track, close to the group median of 23.3%.
Amazon compared with similar assets
| Asset | Price | Today | 1 month | 1 year | RSI | Trend score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZNAmazon | $258.75 | +0.07% | +0.8% | +17.6% | 55 | 80 Uptrend |
| GOOGAlphabet | $350.25 | +0.21% | +4.4% | +43.2% | 58 | 80 Uptrend |
| MSFTMicrosoft | $543.00 | -0.08% | +9.6% | +5.6% | 71 | 89 Uptrend |
| METAMeta | $763.53 | +0.14% | +17.8% | +6.7% | 66 | 89 Uptrend |
Over the past year Alphabet has done best in this group (+43.2%) and Microsoft has been the weakest (+5.6%). Amazon comes 2nd of 4, 25.6 percentage points behind Alphabet.
About Amazon
Amazon started as an online bookshop in 1994 and listed in 1997. Amazon Web Services, its cloud arm, earns a large share of group operating profit even though retail brings in most of the revenue.
- Ticker
- AMZN
- Type
- Stock
- Sector
- E-commerce and cloud
- Priced in
- USD
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Amazon: questions people ask
Answers are built from the same live figures shown above, so they change as the price does. Last checked 14 Oct 2026.
Has Amazon beaten inflation since 2010?
Yes. From the December 2009 close to October 2026, Amazon went up 3,802% in dollars. US consumer prices rose 55.1% over the same months, which leaves a real gain of 2,415%, or 21.1% a year after inflation. A UK holder counting in pounds saw up 4,666%, which comes to up 2,821% once UK CPI is taken out. These are price returns: dividends are not included, so a holder who reinvested them did better.
How has Amazon done against money printing?
The US M2 money supply grew 174% since 2010. M2 counts the cash, current accounts and savings deposits held in the US, so it measures how much new money was created rather than how much shop prices rose. Against it, Amazon is up 1,323%.
What is Amazon's real return over 10 years?
Over the 10 years to October 2026, Amazon returned 565% in dollars (20.9% a year). After US inflation that is up 380%, 17.0% a year. In pounds after UK inflation it is up 332%.
What is the Amazon share price today?
The last price we have for Amazon is $258.75, up 0.1% on the day, as of 23:55 BST on 13 Oct 2026. We get US prices from Nasdaq and during trading hours they can be up to 15 minutes behind, so if you are about to trade you'll want the live quote from your broker rather than ours. Over the last month the shares have moved +0.8% and over the last year +17.6%.
Is Amazon stock overbought right now?
No, or at least not on the 14-day RSI, which reads 54.6 at the moment. We'd only start calling Amazon overbought above 70 and it hasn't been there since 3 Aug 2026, while the last time it went the other way and dropped below 30 was 17 Feb 2026. RSI looks back over 14 sessions and asks how much of the movement was up and how much was down, so a reading in the 50s or 60s mostly tells us the past few weeks have been fairly even. Amazon spent 23 sessions at 70 or above in the past year, which is one reason we don't treat a high reading as a cue to sell: in a strong run it can stay there for weeks.
How far is Amazon from its 52-week high?
Not far, about 8.9%. The highest close in the past year was $284.02 on 3 Aug 2026 and the lowest was $198.79 on 13 Feb 2026, which puts today's price 70% of the way up that range. We work this out from daily closing prices rather than the intraday highs and lows an exchange reports, so our high can be a little lower than the one you'll see quoted elsewhere.
Is Amazon above its 200-day moving average?
It is. Amazon's last price of $258.75 is 6.7% above its 200-day average of $242.42, and the 50-day average of $258.35 is above the 200-day as well, which has been true on every day since 24 Jun 2026, as far back as our data goes. We show the 200-day line because it averages about ten months of closing prices, so a single bad week hardly moves it, and when we look at a chart it's the quickest way to see whether a share has been rising or falling over the longer run, even if it can't tell us where the price goes from here.
How volatile is Amazon stock?
Over the past 30 days Amazon's annualised volatility has been 23.5%. If that number feels abstract, it works out at roughly a 1.5% move on an ordinary day. It is the 13th most volatile of the 27 US shares we track and the median for the group is 23.3%, so at the moment it is about as jumpy as a typical member of the group. The biggest single-day swings of the past year were +15.3% on 31 Jul 2026 and −5.6% on 6 Feb 2026.
Important information
Capital at risk. The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Educational information only, not financial advice. Read our disclaimer.
Amazon: what the numbers say
Claude Haiku ·Amazon closed at $258.98 today, down 0.21 per cent on the session. The shares sit 8.8 per cent below their 52-week closing high of $284.02, reached on 3 August, and 30.3 per cent above their closing low of $198.79, set on 13 February. The price remains above both its 50-day average of $258.35 and its 200-day average of $242.42.
Read the full summary Show less
The trend score of 81 carries an Uptrend label, with the trend component at 100 and drawdown at 82. Momentum scores 58, and the RSI component sits at 87, even though the 14-day RSI reads 54.9. Volatility runs at 23.5 per cent annualised. Peers finished higher today, with Meta up 2.86 per cent and Microsoft up 0.83 per cent.
Written by AI from this site's live data and checked figure by figure before publishing. Educational only, not financial advice.