Here's what every major analyst predicts for Amazon's earnings report after the bell

Published Thu, Jan 30 202012:52 PM ESTUpdated Thu, Jan 30 20201:24 PM EST

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.) Wall Street analysts are looking for Amazon to continue its dominance when the e-commerce giant reports its fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday after the bell. The company reported a record setting holiday season in December leading to increased expectations for investors and analysts alike. Amazon has come under some scrutiny for its heavy spending on initiatives like one-day shipping and its cloud computing effort Amazon Web Services. While that's made the company very successful it's also come at the expense of profits. The stock is up more than 16% over the last year but just 4% since the company's previous earnings report in October. Investors should also expect updates on other key issues like regulation, ad revenue, and growth in international markets. Here's what analysts are prediction for Amazon's fourth-quarter earnings report: "We continue to remain positive on Amazon as we see the company as a long-term secular grower with leadership positions in three large growth markets — e-commerce, cloud, and advertising … and expect numbers to move higher over time," Susquehanna analyst Shyam Patil said. The firm acknowledged profits are a "key issue" but urged clients to be patient as the company builds out its infrastructure. "We expect a solid overall 4Q," they said. As long as the company continues its focus on shipping and Amazon Web Services, it will be hard to beat Jefferies said. " In e-commerce , we believe AMZN remains attractive on a growth adjusted basis, as one-day extends its competitive moat and AWS generates attractive high-margin revenue growth," analyst Brent Thill said. Any sell-off in shares over profit concerns is a buying opportunity for clients, he said. "We would be buyers of any weakness in AMZN given its attractive long-term outlook, but recognize the stock could remain in a holding pattern until the market gains more conviction in near-term profitability." Deutsche Bank said that while they like the stock, investors should proceed carefully due to rising competition in the cloud market. "We have not seen this much caution around Amazon shares in a long time, thus despite our concerns, we think the risk/reward looks compelling at current levels," they said. Regardless of any revenue deceleration Amazon is a name every portfolio should have according to Barclays. "Longer term we remain in the bull camp and view AMZN as a must-own quality name," analyst Ross Sandler said. "We are a bit hesitant going into 4Q results, but admit that timing an entry point on AMZN shares is never easy and it's probably best to not get cute and just buy some." RBC- Outperform rating "Based on intra-quarter data points and our model sensitivity work, we think Street estimates are reasonable for Q4:19, with the potential for modest upside. We view Street's Q1:20 Revenue assumption as bracketable, though we see downside risk in Street's Q1 GAAP operating income. That said, we believe that investor expectations for Q1 OI have been somewhat lowered recently, so some of this risk may be priced in already." SunTrust- Buy rating "We are highlighting AMZN as a favorite of ours to own in 2020. We believe the setup into 2020 is compelling given 1) AMZN stock has underperformed the group/market in 2019; it hasn't underperformed for 2 consecutive years in nearly two decades; 2) based on its impact to-date and what we observed from the launch of free 2-day shipping in FY05, we believe current ests under-appreciate the impact 1-Day shipping is likely to have on top line growth; and 3) for AWS, growth expectations have been reset to more achievable levels for FY20, limiting the potential for disappointment." UBS- Buy rating "AMZN remains the most hotly debated among investors – rate of growth & investment debates persist on both AWS and next day shipping efforts; strong advertising checks should receive attention. ... Investors will be focused on: 1) Competitive dynamics in cloud and the resulting impact on AWS growth ; 2) Q1 operating income guide to gauge the magnitude of investments in long-tailed revenue opportunities, specifically its 1-day shipping initiative and an update on potential headwinds 3) 1P rev growth & paid units trends ( & any upside to forward rev growth from 1-day shipping); 4) Update on int'l markets and its grocery segment; 5) Commentary on advertising business and growth" Jefferies- Buy rating "In e-commerce , we believe AMZN remains attractive on a growth adjusted basis, as one-day extends its competitive moat and AWS generates attractive high-margin revenue growth. We would be buyers of any weakness in AMZN given its attractive long-term outlook, but recognize the stock could remain in a holding pattern until the market gains more conviction in near-term profitability." Goldman Sachs- Buy rating "We expect Amazon to report Q4 results above consensus expectations after the close on 30-Jan. While investor focus seems singularly on the risk of further growth deceleration at AWS, a record number of retail store closures, investments in faster delivery, incremental momentum in the advertising business, and, notably, AWS infrastructure and service expansion in aggregate point to the potential for upside to consensus revenue expectations in Q4 and acceleration in Q1." Canaccord- Buy rating "We think Amazon's decision to offer one-day shipping for Prime members has been validated by accelerating online stores revenue and unit growth throughout 2019. However, the company has had to spend heavily to expand the program, and investors will likely be looking for a better sense of how long this investment cycle will last. ... AWS is another segment that investors tend to keep a close eye on, and we estimate 30% y/y revenue growth and a 23% operating margin in Q4, with margin improving in 2020." DA Davidson- Buy rating "We believe Amazon's one-day Prime shipping effort is transforming retail. Investment spending on the effort; however, should pressure margins in 4Q19 and, looking ahead, in 1Q20. ... We see two potential catalysts for shares over the next 12-month period: 1) stronger than expected operating results from the company's cloud computing efforts, which we believe remains the primary driver of its share price and 2) due to its increasing mix of highly-profitable third-party sales. Bank of America- Buy rating "We think 2020 ends better than it starts; Buy. While 1Q profit guidance is a near-term risk given added delivery investment (One-Day & Amazon Fresh ramp), we see clear benefits to the AMZN ecosystem from investment in increasing internal delivery capabilities. We continue to have a positive view on potential for retail unit and revenue strength (benefit from Prime One Day & Grocery), and see an improving set-up for AWS growth and margins as 2020 progresses." Barclays- Overweight rating "Longer term we remain in the bull camp and view AMZN as a must-own quality name. ... The best time to accumulate AMZN shares is toward the latter innings of its investment cycle before it becomes obvious to everyone that margins are going to turn back up, and that feels like now. The concerns around AWS share loss seem overblown, and more than priced in here. ... We are a bit hesitant going into 4Q results, but admit that timing an entry point on AMZN shares is never easy and it's probably best to not get cute and just buy some." Wedbush- Outperform rating "Amazon can deliver substantial earnings over the long term by growing spending more slowly than revenues. Amazon Web Services, Fulfillment by Amazon, and ads should drive steady margin growth, with Prime driving overall retail revenue growth. ... Amazon appears positioned to deliver a strong quarter from a top line perspective, with its best-ever Black Friday, Cyber Monday becoming the biggest shopping day in company history, and its customers shopping at "record levels" over the holiday season. In addition, expanding same-day and one-day delivery availability probably provided a nice boost to (near) last-minute purchases ahead of Christmas." Stifel- Buy rating "The company reported a record holiday season in 4Q and delivered ~4x as many items via one-day or same-day shipping versus the same period in 2018, reflecting the progress made in the company's logistics investments. We expect the investment cycle to continue through 2020 as Amazon expands logistics capacity and one-day shipping capabilities while spending more on AWS sales and marketing initiatives and product innovation. The benefits of faster shipping will likely support 4Q and 2020 revenue growth as well as strengthen Amazon's advantage in logistics capabilities versus competitors." Susquehanna- Positive rating "We continue to remain Positive on Amazon as we see the company as a long-term secular grower with leadership positions in three large growth markets — e-commerce, cloud, and advertising … and expect numbers to move higher over time. Near-term profitability — particularly consolidated segment operating income guide for 1Q20 — remains a focus (and key risk) as Amazon continues to invest aggressively in fulfillment and logistics (one-day shipping rollout), content (given the aggressive original programming), international markets (specifically India), and WFM. AWS margins are likely to be lumpy quarter-to-quarter, adding uncertainty. We expect a solid overall 4Q." BMO- Outperform rating "We think the key question for AMZN right now is how long incremental one-day shipping investment lasts beyond early April, when it laps the year-ago kickstart. We are confident that 4Q19 was the peak, but management has generally kept one-day outlook comments to the next quarter, and we're hopeful for some broader color on 2Q to 4Q20 as well. We remain Outperform due to positive revenue mix shift from higher-margin businesses like AWS and advertising, which we believe will support margin expansion over the long term." Deutsche Bank- Buy rating "We reduce operating income and AWS revenue - primarily for 2020 and 1Q in particular - though we believe investors are anticipating forecasts to move down post 4Q results. ... We have not seen this much caution around Amazon shares in a long time, thus despite our concerns, we think the risk/reward looks compelling at current levels." Credit Suisse- Outperform rating "As AWS is poised to more aggressively pursue larger enterprise clients (vs start-ups/tech companies), we believe it will continue to ramp up sales and marketing personnel in the near term – to this end, our updated model reflects the more explicit steps to account for this rising component of total Marketing costs. ... We believe 1-Day Prime shipping should open up greater consumer purchasing activity in everyday household/FMCG/CPG goods – this should increase consumer engagement overall with Amazon and decrease the likelihood/need to reacquire a lapsed user." Morgan Stanley- Overweight rating "We remain bullish on AMZN as our new multi-year build out of 1-day vs non-1-day unit economics shows how near-term profitability is likely to still disappoint, but that 'this build phase too shall pass,' as we see AMZN reaching Street 2Q-3Q profitability and delivering materially higher than expected profitability in 2021 and beyond." Telsey- Outperform rating "Amazon's 4Q19 results should benefit from the strength of its 2019 holiday season (best Cyber Monday ever), expansion of new products and categories, continued success of one-day delivery, the rollout of free Amazon Fresh grocery delivery to Prime members, and solid growth at Amazon Web Services (AWS). ... Looking ahead to 2020, we expect many of the structural investments to pressure 1H20, but profitability should improve as these investments are annualized. ... Overall, Amazon should continue to gain market share across Retail, both in the US and International markets, supported by a powerful ecosystem, including advertising, media, third-party sales, and AWS."

Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, pictured on September 13, 2018.

Bloomberg | Getty Images

(This story is for CNBC PRO subscribers only.)

Wall Street analysts are looking for Amazon to continue its dominance when the e-commerce giant reports its fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday after the bell.

The company reported a record setting holiday season in December leading to increased expectations for investors and analysts alike.

Amazon has come under some scrutiny for its heavy spending on initiatives like one-day shipping and its cloud computing effort Amazon Web Services. While that's made the company very successful it's also come at the expense of profits.

The stock is up more than 16% over the last year but just 4% since the company's previous earnings report in October.

Investors should also expect updates on other key issues like regulation, ad revenue, and growth in international markets.

Here's what analysts are prediction for Amazon's fourth-quarter earnings report: