Amazon shares surge as AWS growth accelerates, potentially marking best day in 11 years
Amazon shares rose 13.7% in early Friday trading. If the gain holds through the close, it would be the company’s biggest one-day increase since April 24, 2015. The rally followed second-quarter revenue growth of 36.7% at Amazon Web Services, the company’s cloud business. AWS revenue reached $42.2 billion, exceeding market expectations and marking its fastest growth in 18 quarters. Analysts said AWS had finally reached the long-awaited inflection point in its growth. They said Amazon was at a fundamental turning point, with the pace and profitability of its capital-spending digestion phase better than the market had feared. Amazon Chief Executive Andy Jassy said AWS was “very likely” to move toward a $1 trillion annual-revenue target. Analysts, however, expect AWS revenue of $169.7 billion in fiscal 2026, leaving a substantial gap. Amazon Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky said on the earnings call that AWS’s profitability was not accidental. He attributed it to discipline, efficiency gains and capacity optimization, adding that the company had consistently maintained strict control over fixed costs. AWS’s strong performance and management’s guidance were described as exceeding all expectations. The results increased market confidence in Amazon’s ability to convert capital spending into financial returns and drove a strong rebound in the stock. If the gain holds, it would be Amazon’s best trading day since 2015.
The rally followed second-quarter revenue growth of 36.7% at Amazon Web Services, the company’s cloud business. AWS revenue reached $42.2 billion, exceeding market expectations and marking its fastest growth in 18 quarters.
Analysts said AWS had finally reached the long-awaited inflection point in its growth. They said Amazon was at a fundamental turning point, with the pace and profitability of its capital-spending digestion phase better than the market had feared.
Amazon Chief Executive Andy Jassy said AWS was “very likely” to move toward a $1 trillion annual-revenue target. Analysts, however, expect AWS revenue of $169.7 billion in fiscal 2026, leaving a substantial gap.
Amazon Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky said on the earnings call that AWS’s profitability was not accidental. He attributed it to discipline, efficiency gains and capacity optimization, adding that the company had consistently maintained strict control over fixed costs.
AWS’s strong performance and management’s guidance were described as exceeding all expectations. The results increased market confidence in Amazon’s ability to convert capital spending into financial returns and drove a strong rebound in the stock. If the gain holds, it would be Amazon’s best trading day since 2015.