Amazon Stock Rockets 13%: Q3 Revenue Hit $180.2B, But There’s More

TLDR

• Amazon stock jumped more than 13% in after-hours trading following strong third-quarter results that exceeded all Wall Street projections.
• The company reported $180.2 billion in revenue, a 13% increase year-over-year, and earnings per share of $1.95, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.57.
• Amazon Web Services generated $33 billion in revenue during the quarter, surpassing the expected $32.42 billion and increasing 20.2% from the same period in the prior year.
• CEO Andy Jassy said AWS is growing at a pace not seen since 2022, as demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure is rising rapidly.
• Amazon’s advertising division generated $17.7 billion during the quarter, surpassing analyst projections of $17.34 billion.

Amazon stock jumped more than 13% in after-hours trading on Thursday following strong third-quarter results. The company reported $180.2 billion in revenue, up 13% year over year, and earnings per share of $1.95. Wall Street analysts had expected earnings per share of $1.57, but Amazon stock exceeded all projections.

AWS Growth Drives Amazon Stock Higher

Amazon Web Services generated $33 billion in revenue during the third quarter. The figure surpassed analyst expectations of $32.42 billion and grew 20.2% from last year. Cloud performance has pressured Amazon stock in recent quarters as Microsoft and Google gained market share.

Microsoft’s Azure division reported 40% growth while Google Cloud rose 34%. CEO Andy Jassy said AWS is “growing at a pace we haven’t seen since 2022.” He noted that demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure continues to accelerate rapidly.

Advertising and Retail Boost Amazon Stock Performance

Amazon‘s advertising division brought in $17.7 billion during the quarter. Analysts had projected $17.34 billion, so the company exceeded expectations again. The advertising unit has become a significant revenue driver for Amazon stock in recent years.

The core online stores division posted 10% growth during the quarter. Consumer spending on Amazon remained strong despite uncertainty around trade policies. Amazon stock benefited from diversified revenue streams across cloud, advertising, and retail operations.

The company opened Project Rainier, an $11 billion AI data center, on Wednesday. Amazon designed the facility to host and train models from Anthropic, the developer of the Claude chatbot. Amazon has committed $8 billion to Anthropic and will provide 1 million custom Trainium2 chips.

Anthropic plans to utilize these chips by the end of 2025 for model training and deployment. The partnership strengthens Amazon’s position in the AI infrastructure race against competitors. Amazon stock responded positively to the company’s expanded AI initiatives and partnerships.

Amazon’s AI efforts include Q, a business-focused chatbot, and Bedrock, a generative AI platform. The company said 250 million shoppers used its retail assistant Rufus this year. About 60% of Rufus users were more likely to make purchases after using the tool.

14,000 Amazon Workers Laid Off This Quarter

Amazon confirmed on Tuesday it will lay off 14,000 corporate employees. The company aims to reduce bureaucracy and respond more quickly to market changes, particularly in the realm of AI. Severance costs reached $1.8 billion for the quarter, affecting Amazon’s stock operating margins.

The current employee count stands at 1.58 million, up 2% from last year. Amazon reported $17.4 billion in operating income, unchanged from the same period the previous year. The figure includes a $2.5 billion FTC settlement over Prime subscription practices and severance expenses.

Amazon’s stock guidance for the fourth quarter ranges between $206 billion and $213 billion in revenue. The midpoint of $209.5 billion exceeds analyst estimates of $208 billion for the period. Expected operating income falls between $21 billion and $26 billion versus Wall Street’s $23.8 billion forecast.

CEO Andy Jassy said tariffs could affect Amazon’s stock performance in coming quarters. He noted that tariff increases under President Donald Trump have not yet hurt consumer demand.

The Q3 release followed an AWS outage that lasted more than 15 hours. Microsoft also experienced outages with Azure and 365 platforms before its earnings report. Amazon stock remained resilient despite the technical issues affecting cloud services last week.

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