Andy Jassy leads Amazon to a 15% stock surge following strong second-quarter cloud and AI growth.
Amazon stock rose 15% on Friday after the company reported second-quarter results that exceeded Wall Street expectations. CEO Andy Jassy reported that Amazon Web Services (AWS) generated $42.2 billion in revenue, a 36.7% year-over-year increase, driven by strong demand for cloud computing and AI services. The company also noted that its custom chip business has surpassed a $25 billion annualized revenue run rate. To support this growth, the company raised its capital expenditure forecast for 2026 to approximately $220 billion. Analysts noted that while the spending is high, the accelerating growth of AWS and expanding operating margins justify the investment. Amazon also reported successful results from its annual Prime Day event, which saw U.S. online spending grow by 9.3% year-over-year. Despite heavy investment in AI infrastructure, the company has trimmed its corporate headcount in several divisions to maintain efficiency.