Amazon tops Q2 estimates as AWS posts fastest growth in 18 quarters

Amazon Amazon.com, Inc. ↗ 1.42% reported second-quarter results after the bell on Thursday that far exceeded Wall Street expectations, driven by accelerating demand for its cloud and artificial intelligence services.

The company posted earnings per share of $5.75 on revenue of $200.6 billion, according to its official press release. Analysts had forecast EPS of $1.82 and revenue of $197 billion. Net income totaled $62.6 billion, though that figure was boosted by $53.4 billion in pre-tax gains primarily from Amazon's investments in Anthropic.marketscreener+2

AWS Powers the Beat

Amazon Web Services was the clear standout, generating $42.2 billion in quarterly revenue — a 37% year-over-year increase that marked its fastest growth rate in 18 quarters. Analysts had expected AWS sales of roughly $40.5 billion. AWS operating income jumped to $16.6 billion from $10.2 billion a year earlier.finance.yahoo+2

"AWS is booming, growing 36.7% year-over-year in Q2 — our fastest growth in 18 quarters — and our AI and Chips businesses each eclipsed run rates of more than $25 billion," CEO Andy Jassy said in the release.aboutamazon

The results arrive one day after Microsoft ↗ 0.09% reported strong cloud earnings that sent its shares surging, easing broader investor concerns about returns on massive AI infrastructure spending.finance.yahoo

Guidance Falls Short

Amazon's third-quarter outlook tempered some of the enthusiasm. The company guided for net sales of $197 billion to $202 billion, representing 9% to 12% growth. That range fell below the analyst consensus of approximately $204 billion. Operating income guidance of $22.5 billion to $26.5 billion compared with $17.4 billion in the year-ago quarter.benzinga+1

Total company operating income for Q2 rose 43% year-over-year to $27.5 billion, while free cash flow swung to a $7.6 billion outflow over the trailing twelve months as Amazon poured money into AI infrastructure — property and equipment purchases rose $66.1 billion year-over-year.aboutamazon

Stock Reaction and Broader Context

Amazon shares rose in after-hours trading following the report. The results cap a mixed week for mega-cap tech earnings: while Microsoft and Amazon delivered upside surprises, Meta Platforms ↘ 2.38% fell after missing on its current-quarter outlook and declining to provide 2027 capital expenditure guidance. Alphabet ↗ 0.81% had also unsettled investors last week by disclosing $205 billion in capital expenditures.benzinga+1

Amazon noted it has begun renting chip capacity to Meta, OpenAI, and Anthropic, and that Jassy has floated selling Amazon-designed chips directly to customers for their own data centers.finance.yahoo