Amazon reported second-quarter results that exceeded Wall Street expectations, driving the stock higher in extended trading. Revenue in the company’s cloud segment, known as AWS, expanded 37% year over year, outpacing analyst forecasts for 31% growth and marking the unit’s fastest expansion since 2021, according to CEO Andy Jassy.
The cloud performance drew particular attention as investors monitored Amazon’s competitive position against larger rivals in the space. Alphabet’s Google Cloud had posted 82% growth in the preceding week, while Microsoft’s Azure cloud revenue rose 43% during its fiscal fourth quarter. Jassy characterized AWS as “booming” and highlighted expansion in artificial intelligence and the company’s proprietary chips divisions, both of which exceeded a $25 billion annual revenue run rate.
The results reflected Amazon’s substantial capital investments in infrastructure and AI capabilities. Capital expenditures during the quarter reached $54.2 billion compared with $32.1 billion a year prior. This elevated spending affected the company’s cash position, with trailing twelve-month free cash flow showing an outflow of $7.6 billion against an inflow of $18.2 billion one year earlier.
For the current quarter, Amazon provided revenue guidance between $197 billion and $202 billion, below the $204.1 billion expected by analysts. The company attributed the softer outlook partly to timing differences related to its Prime Day promotional event, which was shifted to June from its typical July schedule. Adjusting for Prime Day timing impacts, third-quarter growth would be nearly 400 basis points higher, Amazon stated. Net income for the second quarter totaled $62.6 billion, or $5.75 per share, significantly higher than $18.2 billion, or $1.68 per share, a year earlier, though this included $53.4 billion in pre-tax gains from Anthropic investments.
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