Amazon (AMZN) Stock Holds Steady as AI Investment and AWS Growth Support Outlook

Quick overview

During the early US trading session on Friday, Amazon (AMZN) is showing mixed performance and trading near the 247.04 level. During the past five days, the stock gained 2.12 percent. Despite some gains, the stock is still below its all time high of $274, which it reached on May 28.

Moreover, the reason for its mixed performance can be attributed to Amazon’s huge spending on artificial intelligence and cloud computing. As per the latest report, Amazon is planning to spend 200 billion dollars on AI and data centers in 2026, which is 50 percent higher compared with 131 billion dollars last year. Hence, this investment could be good for the company in the long term, but it puts some pressure on investors in the short term.

Despite this, Amazon cloud business continues to show fast growth, which matters most for investors. Meanwhile, the company also gave confidence to investors by saying these huge investments will help it grow much more in the future.

Amazon Earnings Show Strong Business Growth

Furthermore, the proof of this company’s better performance is also given by its strong earnings report for the first three months Quarter  of 2026, in which it is shown that the company made 181.5 billion dollars in sales, which is 17 percent higher than the previous year. Meanwhile, North America sales increased by 12 percent to 104.1 billion dollars and international sales increased by 19 percent to 39.8 billion dollars.

Moreover, the company’s GAAP net income was also very good at 30.3 billion dollars (diluted EPS $2.78), which was much higher than the previous year. Amazon’s operating income was 23.9 billion dollars. Cloud business AWS gave the best performance and increased by 28 percent to 37.6 billion dollars in sales. The advertising business also increased by 24 percent to 17.2 billion dollars. In contrast, the companys free cash flow was only $1.2 billion in the last 12 months due to heavy AI spending.

Amazon Expects More Growth in the Coming Months

Looking forward, investors are keeping thier eyes on the next earnings report, which is scheduled to be released on July 30, 2026. However, the company expects Quarter 2 2026 sales to be between 194 billion to 199 billion dollars, with operating income between 20 billion dollars and 24 billion dollars. Experts believe Amazon could make more than 800 billion dollars in the whole of 2026, which makes investors happy and contributes to the stock gains.

In contrast to this, Microsoft and Google are giving it tough competition, but Amazon is still ahead because more businesses use its cloud services than any other company.

Amazon Prime Day Was a Big Success

Another positive sign for the Amazon company was its Prime Day event. Amazon hosted the event from June 23 to June 26, 2026. During the four day sale, people spent over 26.4 billion dollars, which was 9.3 percent higher compared to last year. At this event, most people bought electronics, beauty products, and clothes. Hence, this strong event will also help Amazon’s Q2 earnings.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR See More

Arslan Butt

Lead Markets Analyst – Multi-Asset (FX, Commodities, Crypto)

Arslan Butt serves as the Lead Commodities and Indices Analyst, bringing a wealth of expertise to the field. With an MBA in Behavioral Finance and active progress towards a Ph.D., Arslan possesses a deep understanding of market dynamics. His professional journey includes a significant role as a senior analyst at a leading brokerage firm, complementing his extensive experience as a market analyst and day trader. Adept in educating others, Arslan has a commendable track record as an instructor and public speaker. His incisive analyses, particularly within the realms of cryptocurrency and forex markets, are showcased across esteemed financial publications such as ForexCrunch, InsideBitcoins, and EconomyWatch, solidifying his reputation in the financial community.

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