Amazon's Free Cash Flow Takes Hit from AI Spending

Amazon's second-quarter earnings report for 2026 showed a significant increase in operating cash flow, up 33% year-over-year to $161.4 billion.

However, despite this improvement, the company's free cash flow went negative by $7.6 billion, meaning it spent more than its business generated in cash.

This discrepancy is largely due to Amazon's increasing spending on artificial intelligence (AI) research and development, which has become a major capital investment priority for the company.

Over the past 12 months, Amazon has raised nearly $77 billion through the sale of long-term debt, which has contributed to its growing long-term debt balance, now standing at $128.9 billion.