Amazon's stock jumped 14% after a second-quarter earnings beat, adding $25 billion to Jeff Bezos' fortune and pushing the company's market capitalization to just under $3 trillion. AWS posted its fastest revenue growth in 18 quarters, while Amazon raised its 2026 capital spending plan to $220 billion.
Amazon's shares surged 14% after its second-quarter results beat Wall Street's expectations, pushing its market capitalization to just under $3 trillion.
Jeff Bezos, who stepped down as Amazon's CEO in 2021 and has served as chairman of the board since, owns more than 8% of the company's outstanding shares. The post-earnings jump added $25 billion to his fortune on the morning of July 31, and he remains the world's third-richest person, just behind Alphabet co-founder Larry Page.
AWS posts its fastest growth in 18 quarters
For the three months ended June 30, Amazon reported revenue of $200.6 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $1.97, both ahead of Wall Street's forecasts. AWS, the cloud division, posted a 37% year-over-year revenue increase, its fastest growth rate in 18 quarters. Operating income for AWS climbed 63% to $16.6 billion, now accounting for 60% of Amazon's total. The division's backlog reached almost $500 billion, and Amazon's artificial intelligence and chips businesses each grew triple-digit percentages during the quarter.
Capex climbs on higher memory costs
Amazon now expects capital expenditures of $220 billion in 2026, up from the $200 billion outlook it gave three months earlier. Management cited higher memory costs as the reason for the increase. The company also reported a $7.6 billion free cash outflow for the trailing 12 months, a shift investors now have to get used to as the AI buildout continues.
A near 10-year-low valuation
Amazon's other business lines also picked up speed: online stores, third-party seller services, and digital advertising all registered accelerating revenue growth in the quarter. The stock trades at a price-to-operating-cash-flow multiple of 18.3, near a 10-year low. According to Motley Fool, that setup makes the stock attractive to investors willing to bet on Amazon's ability to monetize its AI investments.
Source: The Motley Fool
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