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AMZN vs. CSCO: Amazon.com vs. Cisco Systems Stock Comparison

How do Amazon.com (AMZN) and Cisco Systems (CSCO) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Amazon.com (AMZN) is classified in the Consumer Discretionary sector (Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail), whereas Cisco Systems (CSCO) belongs to Information Technology (Technology Hardware & Equipment) — their GICS classifications point to very different parts of the market.

Company profile comparison for Amazon.com (AMZN) and Cisco Systems (CSCO)
Profile ItemAMZNCSCO
NameAmazon.com Inc.Cisco Systems, Inc.
Country/RegionUnited StatesUnited States
GICS SectorConsumer DiscretionaryInformation Technology
GICS Industry GroupConsumer Discretionary Distribution & RetailTechnology Hardware & Equipment
GICS IndustryBroadline RetailCommunications Equipment
GICS Sub-IndustryBroadline RetailCommunications Equipment
Market Capitalization2,803.85 billion USD370.01 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNasdaqNasdaq
Listing DateMay 15, 1997February 16, 1990
Security TypeCommon StockCommon Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

AMZN
CSCO
GSPC
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Amazon.com (AMZN) vs. Cisco Systems (CSCO), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Amazon.com (AMZN) and Cisco Systems (CSCO). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Amazon.com (AMZN) and Cisco Systems (CSCO). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Amazon.com (AMZN) and Cisco Systems (CSCO)
MetricAMZNCSCO
Total Return (1Y)9.80%40.88%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)24.05%26.81%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)8.46%14.44%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

AMZN
CSCO
GSPC
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Amazon.com (AMZN) vs. Cisco Systems (CSCO), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Amazon.com (AMZN) and Cisco Systems (CSCO). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Amazon.com (AMZN) and Cisco Systems (CSCO)
MetricAMZNCSCO
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)34.10%36.83%
Beta (5Y)1.451.02
Max Drawdown (5Y)-55.73%-36.68%
Avg. Volume (3M)38.50M18.52M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

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AMZN and CSCO are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. Each dashed Capital Allocation Line uses that stock's own industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Amazon.com (AMZN) and Cisco Systems (CSCO)
MetricAMZNCSCO
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)0.160.99
Sortino Ratio (1Y)0.261.44

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Cisco Systems (CSCO) at 27.32% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Amazon.com (AMZN) at 27.42% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for CSCO.

AMZN

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

27.42%

Max
62.17%
Q3
29.44%
AMZN
27.42%
Median
15.69%
Q1
6.73%
Min
-12.16%

CSCO

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

27.32%

Max
42.47%
CSCO
27.32%
Q3
19.13%
Median
11.00%
Q1
1.63%
Min
-20.62%
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Amazon.com (AMZN) vs. Cisco Systems (CSCO): A comparison of their ROE against their respective Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail and Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmarks.

Net Margin (TTM)

For every dollar of sales, both Amazon.com (AMZN) at 16.90% and Cisco Systems (CSCO) at 20.95% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

AMZN

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

16.90%

Max
16.94%
AMZN
16.90%
Q3
8.69%
Median
3.55%
Q1
1.14%
Min
-9.41%

CSCO

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

20.95%

Max
27.60%
CSCO
20.95%
Q3
11.66%
Median
4.08%
Q1
0.00%
Min
-11.02%
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Amazon.com (AMZN) vs. Cisco Systems (CSCO): A comparison of their net margin against their respective Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail and Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmarks.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Amazon.com (AMZN) at 13.90% and Cisco Systems (CSCO) at 27.72% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

AMZN

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

13.90%

Max
21.45%
AMZN
13.90%
Q3
10.89%
Median
5.57%
Q1
2.28%
Min
-7.12%

CSCO

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

27.72%

Max
36.27%
CSCO
27.72%
Q3
18.36%
Median
8.84%
Q1
1.46%
Min
-21.39%
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Amazon.com (AMZN) vs. Cisco Systems (CSCO): A comparison of their operating margin against their respective Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail and Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmarks.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Amazon.com (AMZN) and Cisco Systems (CSCO)
MetricAMZNCSCO
ROE (TTM)27.42%27.32%
ROA (TTM)6.62%7.98%
Net Margin (TTM)16.90%20.95%
Operating Margin (TTM)13.90%27.72%
Gross Margin (TTM)51.37%64.52%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Amazon.com (AMZN) at 12.38% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Cisco Systems (CSCO) at 11.78% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for AMZN.

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Amazon.com (AMZN) vs. Cisco Systems (CSCO): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Only one side can be read here: Amazon.com (AMZN) reports EPS growth of 29.66%, ranked against its industry; Cisco Systems (CSCO) has no EPS growth figure this period.

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Amazon.com (AMZN) vs. Cisco Systems (CSCO): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Amazon.com (AMZN) and Cisco Systems (CSCO)
MetricAMZNCSCO
Revenue Growth (YoY)12.38%11.78%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)11.73%3.57%
EPS Growth (YoY)29.66%--
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)----

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Amazon.com (AMZN) at 0.99 and Cisco Systems (CSCO) at 0.93 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

AMZN

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.99

Max
2.62
Q3
1.75
Median
1.35
Q1
1.00
AMZN
0.99
Min
0.48

CSCO

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

0.93

Max
5.34
Q3
3.02
Median
1.95
Q1
1.32
CSCO
0.93
Min
0.17
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Amazon.com (AMZN) vs. Cisco Systems (CSCO): A comparison of their current ratio against their respective Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail and Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmarks.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Amazon.com (AMZN) at 0.50 keeps leverage in the lower industry quartile, while Cisco Systems (CSCO) at 0.62 runs a more typical debt-to-equity mix.

AMZN

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.50

Max
3.93
Q3
2.14
Median
1.25
Q1
0.73
AMZN
0.50
Min
0.01

CSCO

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

0.62

Max
1.76
Q3
0.78
CSCO
0.62
Median
0.24
Q1
0.04
Min
0.01
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Amazon.com (AMZN) vs. Cisco Systems (CSCO): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against their respective Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail and Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmarks.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Amazon.com (AMZN) and Cisco Systems (CSCO)
MetricAMZNCSCO
Current Ratio (MRQ)0.990.93
Debt / Equity (MRQ)0.500.62
Net Debt / EBITDA1.040.82

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Amazon.com (AMZN) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Cisco Systems (CSCO) reports a yield of 1.73%, ranking against industry peers normally.

AMZN

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.00%

Max
5.84%
Q3
2.50%
AMZN
0.00%
Median
0.00%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

CSCO

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

1.73%

CSCO
1.73%
Max
0.73%
Q3
0.31%
Median
0.00%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Amazon.com (AMZN) vs. Cisco Systems (CSCO): A comparison of their dividend yield against their respective Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail and Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmarks.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Amazon.com (AMZN) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Cisco Systems (CSCO) reports a payout of 49.85%, ranking against industry peers normally.

AMZN

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.00%

Max
72.73%
Q3
32.44%
AMZN
0.00%
Median
0.00%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%

CSCO

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

49.85%

CSCO
49.85%
Max
32.27%
Q3
14.48%
Median
0.00%
Q1
0.00%
Min
0.00%
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Amazon.com (AMZN) vs. Cisco Systems (CSCO): A comparison of their payout ratio against their respective Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail and Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmarks.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Amazon.com (AMZN) and Cisco Systems (CSCO)
MetricAMZNCSCO
Dividend Yield (TTM)0.00%1.73%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)0.00%49.85%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Amazon.com (AMZN) at 20.96 and Cisco Systems (CSCO) at 28.18 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

AMZN

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

20.96

Max
40.50
Q3
24.26
AMZN
20.96
Median
19.23
Q1
12.64
Min
4.67

CSCO

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

28.18

Max
69.48
Q3
41.02
CSCO
28.18
Median
26.39
Q1
19.36
Min
6.07
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Amazon.com (AMZN) vs. Cisco Systems (CSCO): A comparison of their P/E ratio against their respective Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail and Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmarks.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both Amazon.com (AMZN) at 3.52 and Cisco Systems (CSCO) at 5.84 command a richer price per dollar of sales than most peers, sitting in the upper P/S ratio quartile of their industries.

AMZN

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

3.52

Max
4.32
AMZN
3.52
Q3
1.99
Median
0.70
Q1
0.26
Min
0.03

CSCO

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

5.84

Max
11.30
CSCO
5.84
Q3
5.82
Median
2.56
Q1
1.05
Min
0.00
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Amazon.com (AMZN) vs. Cisco Systems (CSCO): A comparison of their P/S ratio against their respective Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail and Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmarks.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Amazon.com (AMZN) at 4.57 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Cisco Systems (CSCO) at 7.36 carries an above-peer premium to book — CSCO is pricier on assets.

AMZN

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

4.57

Max
10.96
Q3
5.26
AMZN
4.57
Median
2.16
Q1
1.08
Min
-4.45

CSCO

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

7.36

Max
10.75
CSCO
7.36
Q3
5.52
Median
3.17
Q1
1.79
Min
0.33
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Amazon.com (AMZN) vs. Cisco Systems (CSCO): A comparison of their P/B ratio against their respective Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail and Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmarks.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Amazon.com (AMZN) and Cisco Systems (CSCO)
MetricAMZNCSCO
P/E Ratio (TTM)20.9628.18
P/S Ratio (TTM)3.525.84
P/B Ratio (MRQ)4.577.36
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)-1.24%3.02%