Amazon.com stock faces mixed Q3 report as AWS growth accelerates

Amazon.com Inc. reported its third-quarter results on Thursday, October 29, with cloud growth and operating profitability accelerating while earnings per share and total revenue narrowly missed analyst forecasts. The company said in its Amazon press release that net sales increased 12% year over year to 201.944 billion US dollars for the quarter ended September 30.

The result was below the 202.31 billion US dollars expected by analysts surveyed by LSEG, while diluted earnings per share came in at 1.89 US dollars versus 1.96 US dollars expected, according to CNBC. Net income declined to 20.685 billion US dollars from 21.187 billion US dollars a year earlier. Amazon attributed much of the comparison effect to a 9.5 billion US dollar pretax gain from Anthropic-related investments in the prior-year quarter.

AWS growth lifts operating profit

Amazon Web Services was the clearest operating bright spot. AWS revenue increased 39.3% to 45.984 billion US dollars, ahead of the 45.29 billion US dollar analyst estimate cited by CNBC. AWS operating income rose to 17.773 billion US dollars from 11.434 billion US dollars, giving the cloud division a 38.7% operating margin.

Consolidated operating income climbed 61% to 28.076 billion US dollars, lifting the operating margin to a company record of 13.9%. Andy Jassy, Amazon president and chief executive, said the AWS investment in infrastructure and functionality was working and projected AWS revenue growth above 40% in both 2027 and 2028. The company said AWS reached a 184 billion US dollar annualized revenue run rate.

AI spending weighs on cash flow

The stronger operating result came with a heavier investment burden. Amazon said trailing-twelve-month free cash flow turned to an outflow of 42.4 billion US dollars, compared with an inflow of 14.8 billion US dollars in the comparable period. The company attributed the deterioration primarily to higher purchases of property and equipment linked to artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Amazon kept its 2026 cash capital expenditure expectation at 220 billion US dollars. Quarterly capital spending reached 77.3 billion US dollars, according to CNBC. The retail and advertising comparisons were also affected by Prime Day moving into the second quarter in most large countries, rather than taking place entirely in the third quarter as it did in 2025.

Fourth-quarter outlook sets next test

Amazon expects fourth-quarter net sales of 240.0 billion US dollars to 247.0 billion US dollars, representing year-over-year growth of 12% to 16%. Operating income is forecast at 28.5 billion US dollars to 33.5 billion US dollars. The company expects advertising revenue growth to return to the high teens in the fourth quarter after timing-related weakness in the latest period.

The real-time quote of Amazon.com Inc. stock traded at 202.95 euros on Lang & Schwarz at 10:44:58 CET on Friday, October 30. The combination of rapid AWS expansion, record operating profitability and sharply negative free cash flow leaves investors weighing AI capacity spending against near-term earnings delivery.

Amazon.com Inc. key figures

• Company: Amazon.com Inc.
• ISIN: US0231351067
• Ticker: AMZN
• Home exchange: Nasdaq
• Lang & Schwarz quote: 202.95 euros at 10:44:58 CET on October 30, 2026
• Third-quarter revenue: 201.944 billion US dollars
• Third-quarter operating income: 28.076 billion US dollars
• Third-quarter operating margin: 13.9%
• Fourth-quarter revenue guidance: 240.0 billion US dollars to 247.0 billion US dollars

Amazon's results add to the focus on artificial intelligence infrastructure spending across the S&P 500 market reports.

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