21/36 against 24/36 checks · to 2026-09-11

AMZN vs KO.

AmazonRuns the largest US online store and, more profitably, the AWS cloud.

Coca-ColaSells concentrate and syrup to bottlers for the world's best-known drinks.

→Amazon (AMZN) is 7.3 times the size of Coca-Cola (KO) at $2.77T against $379.9B, and on the filings Coca-Cola passes more, 24 checks of 36 against 21.

Which passes more checks?

widest gap first

→The two are furthest apart on Shareholder returns, where Coca-Cola passes 6 more of the six.

	AMZN	KO
Shareholder returns	0/6	6/6
Growth	6/6	3/6
Trend	2/6	4/6
Value	2/6	1/6
Financial health	5/6	4/6
Quality	6/6	6/6
All checks	21/36	24/36

→Amazon turns over $775.7B to Coca-Cola's $49.3B, 15.7 times as much. Amazon keeps 17.4% of revenue as profit against 27.8% at Coca-Cola.

Which hands more back to owners?

→Coca-Cola pays 2.4% at today's price and Amazon effectively pays nothing, which is the clearest difference in what each hands back.

	AMZN	KO
Dividend yield	-	2.4%
Payout ratio	-	64.7%
Years of unbroken dividend	-	-

Which is growing faster, AMZN or KO?

→Amazon grew revenue faster over the last twelve months, +15.8% against +5.1% at Coca-Cola - 11 points apart. Over three years the order is the same, Amazon at +11.7% and Coca-Cola at +3.7%.

	AMZN	KO
Revenue (TTM)	$775.7B	$49.3B
Revenue growth, 1 year	+15.8%	+5.1%
Revenue CAGR, 3 years	+11.7%	+3.7%
Net income (TTM)	$135.3B	$13.7B
Free cash flow (TTM)	$-11.6B	$12.6B

Which is cheaper?

→Amazon is the cheaper of the two on earnings, 20.6x against 27.8x. Against their own histories, Amazon is below its 77.8x median and Coca-Cola is above its 22.2x.

	AMZN	KO
Share price	$256.78	$88.29
Market cap	$2.77T	$379.9B
P/E	20.6x	27.8x
P/E, own median own 10-year median / own 11-year median	77.8x	22.2x
P/S	3.6x	7.7x
Free cash flow yield	-0.4%	3.3%

Which balance sheet is stronger?

→Amazon carries much the lighter balance sheet, 0.24x of debt to equity against 1.30x - which matters most in the year a downturn arrives, not this one.

	AMZN	KO
Debt / equity	0.24x	1.30x
Interest coverage	28.1x	8.8x
Cash and short-term investments	$123.0B	$10.6B

Which keeps more of each sale?

→Coca-Cola keeps more of each sale: gross margin of 61.7% against 50.8%, a gap of 11 points that flows into everything below it.

	AMZN	KO
Gross margin	50.8%	61.7%
Operating margin	12.1%	29.3%
Return on equity	24.5%	40.7%

Where they differ most

the checks behind the gap

Shareholder returns: Coca-Cola 6 ahead

KO passesShare count isn't climbing shares down 0.9% over 3 years
KO passesBuybacks outpace the stock issued to staff $853M bought back vs $272M of stock compensation
KO passesWhat it hands back fits inside its cash flow 77.4% vs 100.0%

AMZN failsShare count isn't climbing shares up 6.3% over 3 years
AMZN failsBuybacks outpace the stock issued to staff no buybacks against $19.3B of stock compensation
AMZN failsHands cash back to owners no dividends and no buybacks in the last twelve months

Growth: Amazon 3 ahead

AMZN passesOutgrew its sector over the last twelve months 15.8% vs 8.5% (sector 70th pct, n=59)
AMZN passesSustained growth beats its sector (3 years) 11.7% vs 4.7% (sector 70th pct, n=56)
AMZN passesProfits grew over the last twelve months 91.6% vs 0.0%

KO failsOutgrew its sector over the last twelve months 5.1% vs 6.4% (sector 70th pct, n=55)
KO failsSustained growth beats its sector (3 years) 3.7% vs 7.0% (sector 70th pct, n=55)
KO failsProfit growth beats its sector (3 years) 11.2% vs 13.2% (sector 70th pct, n=36)