TIVP022: AMAZON (AMZN): IS IT PRIME TIME FOR INVESTORS?

W/ DANIEL MAHNCKE & SHAWN O’MALLEY

01 June 2025

Daniel Mahncke and Shawn O’Malley break down Amazon (ticker: AMZN), one of the most transformative companies of the modern era — a business that started as an online bookstore and ended up reshaping global commerce, cloud computing, and digital infrastructure. From innovating retail logistics to building the backbone of the internet through AWS, Amazon has changed the way the world shops and interacts with technology — and it’s not slowing down. 

In this episode, you’ll learn how Amazon evolved from a retail disruptor into a multi-engine platform business, how AWS and advertising became its primary profit drivers, how the company is navigating massive AI investments and expanding into satellite internet with Project Kuiper, and whether the current valuation reflects the next leg of growth — plus plenty more along the way.

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IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:

  • How Bezos built Amazon and its Culture 
  • How Amazon’s Flywheel works
  • How Amazon built one of the largest Advertising businesses in the world
  • What AWS is and what role it plays for Amazon
  • The Dynamics of the e-commerce business and competition
  • Whether Amazon Devices can turn into a success story after all
  • What position Amazon is taking in AI
  • What impact Kuiper could have on Amazon’s business
  • How Amazon performed in times of tariffs and immense capex spend
  • Whether Amazon is attractively valued at its current levels
  • Whether Shawn & Daniel add AMZN to The Intrinsic Value Portfolio
  • And much, much more!

TRANSCRIPT

Disclaimer: The transcript that follows has been generated using artificial intelligence. We strive to be as accurate as possible, but minor errors and slightly off timestamps may be present due to platform differences.

[00:00:00] Daniel Mahncke: Nothing is more convenient than ordering today and having it delivered tomorrow, as you and I know best, or at least in the next 48 hours. And that’s basically the Amazon Prime Promise. Amazon has invested tens of billions of dollars into its logistics infrastructure to deliver on that promise. And by now, some 20 years later, Amazon Prime is so much more than just fast and free delivery.

[00:00:25] Daniel Mahncke: It’s this vast ecosystem speaking to every customer out there. I mean, if you wanna listen to music, it’s Amazon Prime movies and shows. Amazon Prime, Thursday Night Football for you. Amazon Prime Champions League. For me, Amazon Prime. More than 230 million members are subscribed to the service, and last year, prime alone generated about $40 billion in revenues.

[00:00:54] Shawn O’Malley: Welcome back folks to our Intrinsic Value Podcast, where we go through the business breakdowns of different companies every week, estimate their intrinsic value, and then decide whether to add them to our portfolio of stock holdings. And before we get started, let me just take a moment to make a quick special announcement.

[00:01:13] Shawn O’Malley: Daniel and I are really excited to announce that we are launching a new community for investors in our audience to join. This will be an exclusive community where basically we vet every member and cap the total size of the community to ensure that it stays meaningful and intimately size, such that everybody can know each other.

[00:01:33] Shawn O’Malley: And for a limited time, we are opening up just 30 spots to the public. And I would say if you’re just even remotely interested, you should go ahead and join the wait list at theinvestorspodcast.com/intrinsicvaluecommunity. For applicants. If you’re admitted, you’ll have the chance to network with other like-minded investors, share stock ideas and get feedback on pitches, dial into calls with expert guest speakers, get the latest updates on Daniel, and i’s portfolio of investments, and really so much more that we’re hoping to offer for people.

[00:02:06] Shawn O’Malley: And I just think it’s gonna be really special. And like I said, if you wanna learn more about it and join the wait list for one of those limited spots, just visit theinvestorspodcast.com/intrinsicvaluecommunity. We’ll also have that link in the description below for this episode. So with that, let’s get into our episode today on yet another member of the Magnificent Seven.

[00:02:30] Shawn O’Malley: We’re always a little hesitant, I would say, when it comes to these kind of companies. And we have covered Alphabet before. It’s not like we’re working off insider tips. Everyone knows them and knows them pretty well, and they tend to dominate the headlines and just get a lot of attention but at the same time at least in my opinion, and probably yours too Daniel, I think we can safely say these are some of the best businesses ever created in the history of capitalism. And ignoring them would not feel right either, especially if we could get them at what I would call fair price. So that’s why we’ve made it a rule to only cover these types of company when not only the story is compelling, but also the valuation gives investors a real reason to take a closer look and we’ll see over the course of today’s episode, but there’s a case for Amazon beginning to reach that point.

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