Amazon.com Inc.’s cloud-computing business has helped propel its shares for almost two decades, but increasing pressure from rivals like Microsoft Corp. and Oracle Corp. is sapping some of the stock’s appeal.

The proliferation of artificial intelligence has led to an explosion of demand for cloud hyperscalers, where Amazon Web Services has the biggest market share. It’s followed by Microsoft’s Azure and Alphabet Inc.’s Google Cloud Platform, with Oracle’s huge growth suggesting there’s a fourth major player on the field. CoreWeave Inc. is also garnering investor attention.

The scope of Amazon’s challenge becomes clear in its dwindling stock market valuation. At roughly 25 times expected earnings over the next 12 months compared with 27 times for the Nasdaq 100 Index, Amazon is close to i

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