Amazon’s (AMZN.O) cloud revenue rose at the fastest clip in nearly three years, helping the company forecast quarterly sales above estimates and driving its shares up 14% in after-market trading.
The company projected increased capital spending next year.
The online retailer benefited as businesses continue to spend relentlessly on artificial intelligence software development. Massive cloud demand is helping the tech company ease the pressure from softer growth at its e-commerce business, which is gearing up for the critical holiday season amid weakness in consumer confidence stemming from global trade uncertainty.
Amazon’s rally in extended trading lifted the company’s market value by about $330 billion. A stock rally of the same size in Friday’s official trading session would make it Amazon’s biggest one-day percentage gain since 2015.
“AWS is growing at a pace we haven’t seen since 2022,” CEO Andy Jassy said in a statement. “We continue to see strong demand in AI and core infrastructure, and we’ve been focused on accelerating capacity.”
Amazon Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky said he expected full-year capital expenditures to be around $125 billion, and higher next year, without providing details. The company booked $89.9 billion in capital expenditures through the first three quarters, largely on AI projects.
