Key Takeaways
- Peter Thiel’s hedge fund, Thiel Macro, revealed Amazon (AMZN) as its largest holding in the Q2 2024 13F filing, representing roughly 28% of the portfolio.
- Outside of Amazon, the fund’s stakes are concentrated in energy companies, signaling a thesis that AI infrastructure and the power needed to run it are attractive investment areas.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) drives the majority of Amazon’s operating profit despite being a smaller revenue segment, thanks to far‑superior margins and accelerating growth (up to ~37% YoY).
- The company is on track to deploy about $220 billion in data‑center capital expenditures this year, a spend that Thiel believes will translate into substantial future revenue and profit growth not yet reflected in the stock price.
- Analyst Keithen Drury notes that the market may be under‑pricing the upcoming AI‑driven earnings surge, making Amazon a compelling buy for investors who follow Thiel’s lead.
Why Tracking Top Investors’ Holdings Can Yield Stock Ideas
Looking at where the brightest investing minds in tech are putting their money is a great way to source stock ideas. One of the more impressive founders in Silicon Valley history is Peter Thiel, even if he is a controversial figure. Thiel helped found PayPal and Palantir, but now, he also runs a hedge fund. That fund, Thiel Macro, has a relatively concentrated portfolio, and as recently as the first quarter, it held no stocks at all. But in the second quarter, Thiel picked up a new set of investments, and the largest of those positions may come as a surprise: Amazon (AMZN +1.94%).
Thiel Macro’s Q2 13F Filing Reveals Amazon as Its Largest Position
The most recent information we have about Thiel Macro’s holdings comes from the hedge fund’s second-quarter 13F filing, which reflects the positions it had as of June 30. That’s a ways back, so its positions could have shifted, but with Amazon accounting for 28% of the portfolio at the end of Q2, I think it’s worth paying attention to. Outside of Amazon, the fund’s other stakes were all in energy companies, so it’s clear that Thiel believes that AI infrastructure and the companies delivering the electricity to power it are the places to invest right now.
Amazon’s AI Prowess Lies Primarily in AWS
Amazon is more of an AI company than it gets credit for. Today’s Change(1.94%) $4.89Current Price$256.78Key Data PointsMarket Cap$2.7TMarket cap calculated using publicly traded shares outstanding only. Does not include unlisted, private, or dual-class non-traded shares. Implied market cap may vary.Day’s Range$253.14 – $257.5952wk Range$196.00 – $287.20Volume26.7MAvg Vol47.4MGross Margin50.77%
Amazon operates the largest cloud computing service in the world, Amazon Web Services (AWS). It has been investing hundreds of billions of dollars into this business to build as many AI data centers as it can, as growing AI workloads have led to unprecedented demand for computing power. While AWS only made up 21% of revenue during Q2, it accounted for 60% of the company’s operating profits. That’s because AWS’ margins are vastly superior to those of Amazon’s commerce business, so even though it is a smaller segment in terms of revenues, the profits the company makes from each dollar that comes through that channel are far greater.
Accelerating AWS Growth and Massive Capital Expenditures
Furthermore, AWS’ growth rate has accelerated over the past few quarters. In 2025, its growth rate hovered in the low-20% range. Now, it’s up to 37%. That shows tremendous progress, and as more compute comes online, the company’s data center investments will convert into revenue and profit growth. I think that makes Amazon a great buy now, as the market is not yet pricing into the stock the amount of revenue that will start flowing into this business unit once the $220 billion in data center capital expenditures Amazon is shelling out this year comes online (plus whatever it decides to spend in 2027 and beyond).
Energy Holdings Complement the AI Infrastructure Thesis
Outside of Amazon, the fund’s other stakes were all in energy companies, so it’s clear that Thiel believes that AI infrastructure and the companies delivering the electricity to power it are the places to invest right now. This alignment suggests that Thiel is betting not only on the compute side of AI but also on the power generation and transmission assets needed to sustain massive data‑center fleets. By pairing a leading cloud provider with energy exposure, Thiel Macro is positioning itself to benefit from both the demand for AI processing and the supply of electricity required to run those workloads at scale.
Investment Thesis: Market Underestimates Future AI‑Driven Earnings
I think that makes Amazon a great buy now, as the market is not yet pricing into the stock the amount of revenue that will start flowing into this business unit once the $220 billion in data center capital expenditures Amazon is shelling out this year comes online (plus whatever it decides to spend in 2027 and beyond). The current valuation appears to reflect only the present‑day earnings from e‑commerce and a modest contribution from AWS, while the impending wave of AI‑driven cloud usage could substantially lift both top‑line and bottom‑line figures. For investors who follow Thiel’s contrarian yet data‑driven approach, Amazon represents a compelling opportunity to capture upside from the AI infrastructure build‑out that is already underway.
Disclosures and Author Positions
Keithen Drury has positions in Amazon and PayPal. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Palantir Technologies, and PayPal. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: short December 2026 $62.50 calls on PayPal. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Conclusion
Peter Thiel’s recent move to load up on Amazon via Thiel Macro underscores a conviction that the e‑commerce giant’s true value lies in its AI‑centric cloud business, not its retail operations. With AWS delivering outsized profits, accelerating growth, and a massive capex program set to unleash new revenue streams, Amazon’s stock may be priced for today’s results rather than tomorrow’s AI‑driven boom. Coupled with a complementary bet on energy providers that will power those data centers, Thiel’s portfolio offers a roadmap for investors seeking exposure to the next wave of technological expansion. As always, potential buyers should conduct their own due diligence, but the evidence presented in Thiel Macro’s latest filing makes a strong case for taking a closer look at Amazon.
https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/09/11/palantir-co-founder-peter-thiels-hedge-fund-just-m/