Amazon is due to report first-quarter results after Wednesday’s close, with investors focused on AWS growth, AI spending and capital expenditures.
Amazon is scheduled to report first-quarter results after the market closes Wednesday, with investors focused on whether its cloud business can keep accelerating and how much more the company may need to spend on artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Wall Street expects Amazon to post earnings of $1.64 a share on revenue of $177.3 billion, according to LSEG estimates cited by CNBC. Revenue is projected to rise 14% from a year earlier, roughly in line with the prior quarter’s growth and faster than the 8.6% increase Amazon reported in the same period last year.
The biggest focus will be Amazon Web Services, the company’s cloud unit. Analysts expect AWS revenue of $36.92 billion, according to StreetAccount, implying growth of about 26% from a year earlier. AWS revenue grew nearly 24% in the fourth quarter, beating analysts’ estimates and marking its fastest expansion in three years.
Amazon has been racing to expand data centers and related infrastructure as demand grows for both core cloud services and AI workloads. Chief Executive Andy Jassy said last quarter that AWS could be growing faster if it had more capacity, citing “very high demand” from customers.
Jassy also disclosed in his annual shareholder letter this month that AWS’ AI revenue run rate reached $15 billion in the first quarter and was “ascending rapidly.” Amazon has recently deepened AI-related deals with OpenAI and Anthropic, with both companies committing to use more AWS cloud computing and chips over several years.
That spending is likely to remain a central question on the earnings call. Amazon projected in early February that capital expenditures would reach $200 billion in 2026, more than $50 billion above analysts’ expectations. Stifel analysts wrote over the weekend that Amazon’s OpenAI and Anthropic arrangements could raise questions about whether the current capital spending plan is enough to support added AWS workloads.
Amazon is not alone in facing that scrutiny. Other major technology companies, including Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta, are also scheduled to report after the bell Wednesday, giving Wall Street a broader look at AI capital spending since the start of the U.S.-Iran war in February. The conflict has disrupted supply chains and pushed oil prices higher, and Amazon has introduced a 3.5% fuel surcharge for some third-party sellers.
Investors will also watch Amazon’s advertising business, where analysts expect $16.87 billion in revenue, according to StreetAccount. Beyond cloud and ads, the company continues to balance heavy investment with cost cuts, including plans announced at the beginning of the first quarter to lay off 16,000 employees after cutting 14,000 staffers in October.
Another capital-intensive project is Leo, Amazon’s satellite internet service. The company aims to begin commercial service in mid-2026 and announced this month that it plans to acquire Globalstar in a deal valued at about $11.57 billion. Amazon has 270 satellites in orbit after a Monday launch, with another 32 expected to launch Thursday, as it works toward Federal Communications Commission deployment requirements.
Wednesday’s report is expected to show whether Amazon’s fastest-growing bets are delivering enough revenue momentum to reassure investors as the company continues to spend heavily on cloud capacity, AI infrastructure and satellite internet.
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