Amazon Stock Soars 15% as Andy Jassy Reports Strong Second Quarter Cloud and AI Growth
Amazon stock rose 15% on Friday following a strong second-quarter earnings report that exceeded market expectations. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy reported that Amazon Web Services (AWS) generated $42.2 billion in revenue, a 36.7% year-over-year increase. This growth was driven by robust demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence services, with the company's custom chip business also surpassing a $25 billion annualized revenue run rate. While the administration announced a planned increase in capital expenditures to approximately $220 billion to support AI infrastructure, investors remained optimistic. Andy Jassy noted that demand for AI and market capacity continues to outstrip server availability. Despite the increased spending, analysts from CFRA Research and Morgan Stanley highlighted AWS's broad capabilities and multi-year growth durability. The company also successfully hosted its annual Prime Day event, which saw a 9.3% year-over-year increase in online spending across retailers, though Amazon's specific sales figures were not disclosed.