Amazon Shareholders Greenlight $200 Billion AI Blitz as AWS Growth Accelerates

Amazon shareholders re-elect board, reject external proposals, enabling $200B AI and data center spending. AWS revenue surges 28%, Anthropic stake yields $16.8B gain.

Amazon’s annual shareholder meeting delivered a resounding vote of confidence for CEO Andy Jassy and executive chairman Jeff Bezos, with investors backing the entire board and rejecting every external proposal. The May 2026 ballot saw all 11 directors re-elected, Ernst & Young retained as auditor, and management’s compensation plan approved. Calls for an independent board chair, a separate climate report, and a worker-represented AI advisory committee all failed to garner enough support.

The mandate clears the way for Amazon’s ambitious capital spending program. The company is on track to invest roughly $200 billion in 2026, the bulk of it flowing into data centers and artificial intelligence infrastructure. It is a bet that hinges on Amazon Web Services, which posted its strongest quarterly growth in nearly four years.

AWS generated $37.6 billion in revenue during the first quarter, a 28% jump that marked the fastest expansion in 15 quarters. The cloud division contributed $14.2 billion in operating income, accounting for 59% of Amazon’s total operating profit. CEO Jassy highlighted a backlog of $364 billion in committed orders, underpinning the need for the massive buildout.

A key piece of the AI puzzle is Amazon’s deepening relationship with Anthropic. The e-commerce giant already invested in the startup at a $350 billion valuation and is now participating in a new funding round worth more than $30 billion that could value Anthropic at over $900 billion. Amazon’s existing stake in the company generated a pre-tax gain of $16.8 billion in the first quarter alone. The company is also testing its revamped voice assistant “Alexa+” in Brazil as part of its generative AI push.

Beyond the cloud, Amazon is expanding into space. Blue Origin, Bezos’s rocket company, is spending $600 million on a new facility in Cape Canaveral that will create 500 jobs. The site will support more frequent launches of the New Glenn rocket, which is designed to carry satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband network.

The first-quarter financials comfortably beat analyst estimates. Earnings per share came in at $2.78, well above the consensus forecast of $1.63. Total revenue rose 16.6% to $181.5 billion, while advertising revenue jumped 24% to $17.2 billion. The North American segment posted an operating margin of 9.0%. However, free cash flow shrank to just $1.2 billion as capital spending surged.

Analysts remain bullish. Of 60 analysts covering the stock, 57 rate it a buy. The average price target stands at $312.66, with Goldman Sachs raising its target to $325, Bank of America to $310, and Loop Capital to $360. The shares closed Friday at €229.70, up about 19% year-to-date and just under 2% below the 52-week high.

Looking ahead, Amazon guided second-quarter revenue between $194 billion and $199 billion. The next earnings report is expected in July 2026, and investors will be watching closely to see whether the growth trajectory can sustain the massive investment outlay. For now, shareholders have given management a blank check to double down on AI and infrastructure.