Amazon’s recent performance in the stock market has caught everyone’s attention. The company’s shares rose sharply, almost 12%, before the market officially opened on Friday. This sudden jump happened because Amazon’s cloud business, called Amazon Web Services (AWS), did extremely well in the last quarter. The company also shared a positive prediction for its future …
Amazon’s recent performance in the stock market has caught everyone’s attention. The company’s shares rose sharply, almost 12%, before the market officially opened on Friday. This sudden jump happened because Amazon’s cloud business, called Amazon Web Services (AWS), did extremely well in the last quarter. The company also shared a positive prediction for its future sales, which made investors feel more confident. For months, many people were worried that Amazon was falling behind other big technology companies in the fast-growing artificial intelligence (AI) race. But the new results show that Amazon is still very much in the game.
AWS plays one of the most important roles in Amazon’s plans for AI. This cloud unit is where Amazon builds and trains many of its AI tools. In the third quarter, AWS reported a strong 20% increase in revenue. Even though this growth was slower than Microsoft Azure’s 40% jump and Google Cloud’s 34% rise, AWS still made far more money overall than both of its competitors. While Microsoft and Google may be growing faster percentage-wise, Amazon is still ahead in size. The company reported an impressive $33 billion in cloud revenue for just one quarter. To compare, Google Cloud earned $15.16 billion in the same period, which is less than half of what AWS made. These numbers show that AWS continues to be a giant force in the cloud industry.
Before these results came out, many investors and industry experts were worried that AWS might be losing too much ground. People have been watching closely because major companies around the world are now investing heavily in AI. Everyone wants fast servers, smart tools, and huge storage systems to run their AI ideas. If AWS didn’t keep up, Amazon could have fallen behind. One expert, Jed Ellerbroek, who works as a portfolio manager at Argent Capital, said, “There was definitely concern about AWS losing market share to Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.” He explained that many people expected AWS to fall behind because the other two companies were signing big AI deals faster. But Amazon’s latest performance showed that these fears may have been exaggerated. After seeing the new numbers, Ellerbroek added, “But now AWS is aboard the train as well and they’re seeing a big revenue increase.” This comment reflects a growing belief that AWS is recovering and may be entering a new, stronger phase of growth.
Amazon’s home city of Seattle has become known for its fast-growing tech industry. The company itself has grown into a giant, touching different parts of people’s lives—from online shopping to streaming, cloud services, and even physical stores. But in the last year, Amazon has been dealing with challenges in its e-commerce business. People have been spending less because of rising prices and economic uncertainty. Shoppers are being more careful with their money as tariffs, inflation, and unstable global conditions make many things more expensive. This has created pressure on Amazon’s online shopping business, which has always been one of the company’s strongest pillars.
Because of these challenges, Amazon has been depending on its cloud business to support the company’s overall growth. AWS brings in a lot of money, and it is currently helping Amazon balance the weaker performance of its online store. When customers buy fewer products, Amazon earns less from sales, but strong demand for cloud services prevents the company’s total revenue from falling. Many businesses, including hospitals, banks, gaming companies, and social media platforms, need cloud systems to run their operations. They need powerful computers and storage tools to keep information safe, manage websites, and now, most importantly, develop new AI tools. This need has helped AWS stay strong even when other parts of Amazon are facing difficulties.
Still, even with this support, Amazon’s stock has not had an easy year. While the results looked good now, the company’s shares have risen only 1.6% since the start of the year. This makes Amazon the slowest-growing company among the group often called the “Magnificent Seven,” which includes big names like Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Meta, Nvidia, and Tesla. These companies have been leading the stock market with huge jumps in value because of new AI technologies. Amazon being at the bottom of that list has worried some investors.
One reason Amazon has struggled this year is its slower pace in signing large AI deals. Big clients who want to create advanced AI models often choose Microsoft or Google first because they already have strong partnerships with OpenAI or their own AI technologies. Amazon has been trying to catch up by investing more in new AI research and updating AWS services. The company has also put money into Anthropic, an AI startup, to strengthen its position in the AI world. Slowly, these steps are beginning to show results, and AWS’s recent rebound could mean that Amazon is finally gaining speed in this race.
Even though the competition is tough, Amazon’s latest success shows that the company is not out of the picture. Instead, it seems to be regaining energy and building a steady path forward. The 20% growth in AWS revenue might be lower compared to its rivals, but it represents a recovery from the slowdown AWS faced earlier. The strong revenue numbers show that many businesses still trust AWS with their most important cloud and AI needs. For a long time, AWS has been the first choice of many companies because it offers reliable, secure, and scalable services. This trust is something Amazon can continue to build on.
Another important thing to understand is that growth in cloud computing usually happens in cycles. Sometimes growth slows down as customers pause their spending, and then it picks up again when companies feel confident. AWS seems to be entering another period of rising demand, especially with AI creating so many new business opportunities. Companies everywhere want to build AI chatbots, security systems, translation tools, and automated machines. All these ideas need powerful cloud systems, which is exactly what AWS provides.
In the coming months, Amazon plans to continue improving its cloud business. The company wants to make AI tools easier to access and cheaper for users. It is also working on making servers faster and more energy efficient. If these improvements succeed, AWS could grow even faster, helping Amazon get back to the top of the “Magnificent Seven” group.
