Amazon Shares Soar as Cloud Business Accelerates
Amazon's shares surged 15% to close at $271.58 in Friday trading in New York, marking their biggest daily gain since April 2012. The jump was driven by faster growth in its cloud computing business, Amazon Web Services (AWS), which reported a 37% increase in revenue to $42.2 billion. This makes up roughly one-fifth of Amazon's total revenue and the majority of its operating profit.
AWS recorded its fifth consecutive quarter of accelerating revenue growth and its strongest expansion rate since the fourth quarter of 2021, according to data cited by Bloomberg. Like other major technology companies, Amazon has been pouring billions of dollars into data centers and advanced chips to capitalize on surging demand for artificial intelligence and cloud computing services.
The company said spending on property and equipment exceeded $53 billion in the period ended June 30, with most of the additional investment directed toward artificial intelligence infrastructure. CEO Andy Jassy stated that Amazon is 'in a very strong position to benefit from this pivotal moment in AI.'