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Within my Stocks and Shares ISA account, I have lots of individual holdings. And that’s unlikely to change any time soon, as diversification can reduce overall portfolio risk significantly.
For a bit of fun though, I like to think about the stock I’d choose if I could only hang onto one. Here’s the one I’d go with if I was faced with this predicament today.
This company has many ways to win
If I could only own one stock, I’d want a company that operates in a number of different growth industries. I’d also want a business that is strong financially.
With that in mind, I’d choose Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN). It’s essentially a technology conglomerate that offers exposure to a range of different industries.
Today, Amazon is active – and a leader in – a wide range of growth markets. These include:
- Online shopping – Amazon now generates over $100bn in sales per quarter from online shopping.
- Cloud computing – Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the largest cloud business in the world today and still growing rapidly.
- AI – the company’s very active in the AI space, offering models and services on AWS as well as its own chips.
- Digital advertising – Amazon’s now the third largest player in the world here behind Google and Meta Platforms.
- Streaming – as of late 2025, Amazon had an estimated 250m Prime members.
- Robotics and self-driving cars – Amazon’s a leader in robotics and also owns autonomous driving company Zoox.
- Space satellites – Project Kuiper is Amazon’s initiative to build a massive satellite internet network in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
Put all this together and it becomes clear that this company has many ways to win. And that’s exactly what I’d want if I could only own one stock.
Financially strong
As for the financials, they look great too. For a start, profits are rising rapidly. For 2025, net profit’s expected to amount to around $77bn, up from $59bn in 2024. For 2026, analysts are forecasting a net profit of around $87bn.
Secondly, the company’s generating a ton of cash flow. For the 12-month period to the end of September, cash flow was $131bn.
Third, the balance sheet looks rock solid. At the end of September, the company had $67bn in cash and cash equivalents on its books and only $51bn in long-term debt.
Attractive valuation
Turning to the valuation, I think it’s attractive. Currently, Amazon trades on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 30. That’s above the market average. However, when we consider the growth potential (and the market dominance the company has), it looks very reasonable.
Of course, Amazon isn’t risk-proof. Some issues here include competition from other Big Tech companies (especially in the cloud computing and AI areas), disruptive technology, consumer spending weakness, and general economic problems.
On the whole though, I see the risk/reward proposition as attractive at current levels. I think this stock’s worth a closer look as we start 2026.
