Comprehensive Stock Comparison
Compare The Honest Company, Inc. (HNST) vs Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) Stock
Analyze side-by-side fundamentals, valuation, growth, and profitability to decide which stock is the better buy.
Selected Stocks
Add up to 10 tickers. Use presets or search to get started.
Quick Verdict
| Category | Winner | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Growth | AMZN | 12.4% revenue growth vs HNST's -1.9% |
| Value | AMZN | Lower P/E (27.0x vs 32.0x) |
| Quality / Margins | AMZN | 10.8% net margin vs HNST's -4.2% |
| Stability / Safety | AMZN | Beta 1.31 vs HNST's 1.44 |
| Dividends | Tie | Neither pays a meaningful dividend |
| Momentum (1Y) | AMZN | -1.1% vs HNST's -48.1% |
| Efficiency (ROA) | AMZN | 9.5% ROA vs HNST's -7.0%, ROIC 14.7% vs -13.5% |
Who Each Stock Is For
Income & stability
Growth exposure
Long-term compounding (10Y)
Sleep-well-at-night portfolio
Defensive / Recession hedge
Business Model
What each company does and how it makes money
The Honest Company is a consumer goods company that sells baby, personal care, and household products marketed as clean and sustainable. It generates revenue primarily through direct-to-consumer e-commerce sales — about 60% of total — and wholesale distribution to major retailers like Target and Amazon. Its key advantage is brand trust built on transparency about ingredients and a founder-driven reputation for safer, eco-friendly alternatives in the baby and beauty categories.
Amazon is a global e-commerce and technology giant that operates online marketplaces, physical stores, and cloud computing services. It generates revenue primarily from online retail sales (~80% of total), Amazon Web Services cloud computing (~15%), and advertising/subscription services like Prime. Its key competitive advantage is an immense logistics network and data infrastructure moat—including AWS's dominant cloud position—that creates massive scale economies and ecosystem lock-in.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
How each company's revenue is distributed across its business units
Financial Metrics Comparison
Side-by-side fundamentals across 2 stocks. BestLagging
Financial Scorecard
AMZN leads in 4 of 6 categories (Financial Metrics, Profitability & Efficiency). HNST leads in 1 (Valuation Metrics).
Financial Metrics (TTM)
AMZN is the larger business by revenue, generating $716.9B annually — 1930.8x HNST's $371M. AMZN is the more profitable business, keeping 10.8% of every revenue dollar as net income compared to HNST's -4.2%. On growth, AMZN holds the edge at +13.6% YoY revenue growth, suggesting stronger near-term business momentum.
| Metric | HNSTThe Honest Compan… | AMZNAmazon.com, Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| RevenueTrailing 12 months | $371M | $716.9B |
| EBITDAEarnings before interest/tax | -$11M | $126.3B |
| Net IncomeAfter-tax profit | -$16M | $77.7B |
| Free Cash FlowCash after capex | $14M | $7.7B |
| Gross MarginGross profit ÷ Revenue | +33.3% | +50.3% |
| Operating MarginEBIT ÷ Revenue | -5.0% | +11.2% |
| Net MarginNet income ÷ Revenue | -4.2% | +10.8% |
| FCF MarginFCF ÷ Revenue | +3.7% | +1.1% |
| Rev. Growth (YoY)Latest quarter vs prior year | -11.8% | +13.6% |
| EPS Growth (YoY)Latest quarter vs prior year | — | +4.8% |
Valuation Metrics
| Metric | HNSTThe Honest Compan… | AMZNAmazon.com, Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Market CapShares × price | $316M | $2.25T |
| Enterprise ValueMkt cap + debt − cash | $231M | $2.32T |
| Trailing P/EPrice ÷ TTM EPS | -20.00x | 29.29x |
| Forward P/EPrice ÷ next-FY EPS est. | 32.00x | 27.03x |
| PEG RatioP/E ÷ EPS growth rate | — | 1.05x |
| EV / EBITDAEnterprise value multiple | — | 18.38x |
| Price / SalesMarket cap ÷ Revenue | 0.85x | 3.14x |
| Price / BookPrice ÷ Book value/share | 1.84x | 5.55x |
| Price / FCFMarket cap ÷ FCF | 23.21x | 292.96x |
Profitability & Efficiency
AMZN delivers a 18.9% return on equity — every $100 of shareholder capital generates $19 in annual profit, vs $-9 for HNST. HNST carries lower financial leverage with a 0.03x debt-to-equity ratio, signaling a more conservative balance sheet compared to AMZN's 0.37x. On the Piotroski fundamental quality scale (0–9), AMZN scores 6/9 vs HNST's 5/9, reflecting solid financial health.
| Metric | HNSTThe Honest Compan… | AMZNAmazon.com, Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| ROE (TTM)Return on equity | -9.2% | +18.9% |
| ROA (TTM)Return on assets | -7.0% | +9.5% |
| ROICReturn on invested capital | -13.5% | +14.7% |
| ROCEReturn on capital employed | -10.2% | +15.3% |
| Piotroski ScoreFundamental quality 0–9 | 5 | 6 |
| Debt / EquityFinancial leverage | 0.03x | 0.37x |
| Net DebtTotal debt minus cash | -$85M | $66.2B |
| Cash & Equiv.Liquid assets | $90M | $86.8B |
| Total DebtShort + long-term debt | $5M | $153.0B |
| Interest CoverageEBIT ÷ Interest expense | 9.37x | 42.78x |
Total Returns (with DRIP)
A $10,000 investment in AMZN five years ago would be worth $13,349 today (with dividends reinvested), compared to $1,750 for HNST. Over the past 12 months, AMZN leads with a -1.1% total return vs HNST's -48.1%. The 3-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) favors AMZN at 30.6% vs HNST's 0.1% — a key indicator of consistent wealth creation.
| Metric | HNSTThe Honest Compan… | AMZNAmazon.com, Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| YTD ReturnYear-to-date | +7.3% | -7.3% |
| 1-Year ReturnPast 12 months | -48.1% | -1.1% |
| 3-Year ReturnCumulative with dividends | +0.4% | +122.9% |
| 5-Year ReturnCumulative with dividends | -82.5% | +33.5% |
| 10-Year ReturnCumulative with dividends | -82.5% | +660.0% |
| CAGR (3Y)Annualised 3-year return | +0.1% | +30.6% |
Risk & Volatility
AMZN is the less volatile stock with a 1.31 beta — it tends to amplify market swings less than HNST's 1.44 beta. A beta below 1.0 means the stock typically moves less than the S&P 500. AMZN currently trades 81.2% from its 52-week high vs HNST's 49.8% drawdown — a narrower gap to the peak suggests stronger recent price momentum.
| Metric | HNSTThe Honest Compan… | AMZNAmazon.com, Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Beta (5Y)Sensitivity to S&P 500 | 1.44x | 1.31x |
| 52-Week HighHighest price in past year | $5.62 | $258.60 |
| 52-Week LowLowest price in past year | $2.07 | $161.38 |
| % of 52W HighCurrent price vs 52-week peak | +49.8% | +81.2% |
| RSI (14)Momentum oscillator 0–100 | 71.3 | 39.9 |
| Avg Volume (50D)Average daily shares traded | 1.7M | 40.7M |
Analyst Outlook
Wall Street rates HNST as "Hold" and AMZN as "Buy". Consensus price targets imply 35.2% upside for AMZN (target: $284) vs 7.1% for HNST (target: $3).
| Metric | HNSTThe Honest Compan… | AMZNAmazon.com, Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Analyst RatingConsensus buy/hold/sell | Hold | Buy |
| Price TargetConsensus 12-month target | $3.00 | $283.97 |
| # AnalystsCovering analysts | 9 | 94 |
| Dividend YieldAnnual dividend ÷ price | — | — |
| Dividend StreakConsecutive years of raises | 1 | — |
| Dividend / ShareAnnual DPS | — | — |
| Buyback YieldShare repurchases ÷ mkt cap | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Historical Charts
Charts are rendered on first load. Hover for details.
Chart 1Total Return — 5 Years (Rebased to 100)
| Stock | May 21 | Feb 26 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Honest Company,… (HNST) | 100 | 15.63 | -84.4% |
| Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) | 100 | 150.97 | +51.0% |
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) returned +33% over 5 years vs The Honest Company,… (HNST)'s -83%. A $10,000 investment in AMZN 5 years ago would be worth $13,349 today (including dividends reinvested).
Chart 2Revenue Growth — 10 Years
| Stock | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Honest Company,… (HNST) | $236M | $371M | +57.6% |
| Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) | $136.0B | $716.9B | +427.2% |
Amazon.com, Inc.'s revenue grew from $136.0B (2016) to $716.9B (2025) — a 20.3% CAGR.
Chart 3Net Margin Trend — 10 Years
| Stock | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Honest Company,… (HNST) | -13.2% | -4.2% | +68.0% |
| Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) | 1.7% | 10.8% | +521.4% |
Amazon.com, Inc.'s net margin went from 2% (2016) to 11% (2025).
Chart 4P/E Ratio History — 8 Years
| Stock | 2017 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) | 188.6 | 32.2 | -82.9% |
Amazon.com, Inc. has traded in a 32x–189x P/E range over 8 years; current trailing P/E is ~29x.
Chart 5EPS Growth — 10 Years
| Stock | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Honest Company,… (HNST) | -0.34 | -0.14 | +58.8% |
| Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) | 0.25 | 7.17 | +2768.0% |
Amazon.com, Inc.'s EPS grew from $0.25 (2016) to $7.17 (2025) — a 45% CAGR.
Chart 6Free Cash Flow — 5 Years
The Honest Company, Inc. generated $14M FCF in 2025 (+135% vs 2021). Amazon.com, Inc. generated $8B FCF in 2025 (+152% vs 2021).
HNST vs AMZN: Frequently Asked Questions
9 questions · data-driven answers · updated daily
01Is HNST or AMZN a better buy right now?
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) offers the better valuation at 29.3x trailing P/E (27.0x forward), making it the more compelling value choice. Analysts rate Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) a "Buy" — based on 94 analyst ratings — the highest consensus in this comparison. The "better buy" depends entirely on your goals: growth investors should weight revenue trajectory, value investors should weight P/E and PEG, and income investors should weight dividend yield and streak.
02Which has the better valuation — HNST or AMZN?
On forward P/E, Amazon.com, Inc. is actually cheaper at 27.0x.
03Which is the better long-term investment — HNST or AMZN?
Over the past 5 years, Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) delivered a total return of +33.5%, compared to -82.5% for The Honest Company, Inc. (HNST). A $10,000 investment in AMZN five years ago would be worth approximately $13K today (assuming dividends reinvested). Over 10 years, the gap is even starker: AMZN returned +660.0% versus HNST's -82.5%. Past returns do not guarantee future results, and the stock with the higher historical return may already have its best growth priced in.
04Which is safer — HNST or AMZN?
By beta (market sensitivity over 5 years), Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) is the lower-risk stock at 1.31β versus The Honest Company, Inc.'s 1.44β — meaning HNST is approximately 9% more volatile than AMZN relative to the S&P 500. On balance sheet safety, The Honest Company, Inc. (HNST) carries a lower debt/equity ratio of 3% versus 37% for Amazon.com, Inc. — giving it more financial flexibility in a downturn.
05Which has better profit margins — HNST or AMZN?
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) is the more profitable company, earning 10.8% net margin versus -4.2% for The Honest Company, Inc. — meaning it keeps 10.8% of every revenue dollar as bottom-line profit. Operating margin tells a similar story: AMZN leads at 11.2% versus -5.0% for HNST. At the gross margin level — before operating expenses — AMZN leads at 50.3%, reflecting greater pricing power or product mix advantage. Stronger margins indicate durable pricing power, lower cost of revenue, or higher mix of software/services. They are one of the clearest signs of business quality.
06Is HNST or AMZN more undervalued right now?
On forward earnings alone, Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) trades at 27.0x forward P/E versus 32.0x for The Honest Company, Inc. — 5.0x cheaper on a one-year earnings basis. Analyst consensus price targets imply the most upside for AMZN: 35.2% to $283.97.
07Which pays a better dividend — HNST or AMZN?
None of the stocks in this comparison currently pay a material dividend. All are effectively zero-yield and should be held for capital appreciation rather than income.
08Is HNST or AMZN better for a retirement portfolio?
For long-horizon retirement investors, Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) is the stronger choice — it scores higher on the combination of lower volatility, dividend reliability, and long-term compounding (+660.0% 10Y return). Both have compounded well over 10 years (AMZN: +660.0%, HNST: -82.5%), confirming both are viable long-term holds — but the lower-volatility option typically results in less emotional selling during corrections. Retirement portfolios generally favour predictability over maximum returns. Consult a financial advisor before making allocation decisions.
09What are the main differences between HNST and AMZN?
Both stocks operate in the Consumer Cyclical sector, making this a peer-level intra-sector comparison — the same macro tailwinds and headwinds will affect both. These fundamental differences mean investors should not choose between them on a single metric — the "better stock" depends entirely on which of these characteristics aligns with your investment strategy.
Find Stocks Like These
Explore pre-built screens for each stock's profile, or build a custom screen to find stocks that beat both.