Amazon vs Alphabet (Google): $1,000 invested since 2023

From a $1,000 stake at the start of 2023, Alphabet (Google) (GOOGL) came out ahead of Amazon (AMZN). That $1,000 grew to $3,646 in GOOGL versus $2,311 in AMZN as of 2026-06-01, roughly $1,334 more in the end.

In total-return terms the order is clear. Alphabet (Google) returned +264.6% against Amazon at +131.1%, a gap of about 133.5 percentage points over the 3.6-year window. Compounded, that is about 43.5% a year for GOOGL against 26.3% for AMZN.

Both holdings beat a plain S&P 500 fund over the same span, which would have turned that $1,000 into about $1,916 at roughly 19.9% a year. In a window this short, one strong or weak stretch can swing the result more than a long-run average would. All figures use split-adjusted closing prices and exclude dividends, taxes, fees, and inflation, so a real after-tax result would differ.

This is a record of what already happened, not financial advice or a recommendation of either name. Past performance does not guarantee future results.