- Amazon's free cash flow was a $42.4 billion outflow for the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2026, versus a $14.8 billion inflow a year earlier.
- The swing followed a $94.8 billion year-over-year increase in property and equipment purchases, net of sales and incentives, which Amazon said primarily reflected AI investment.
- Q3 2026 net sales rose 12% to $201.9 billion, short of S&P Capital IQ estimates of $202.2 billion, and net income was $20.7 billion, short of estimates of $21.4 billion.
- AWS net sales rose 39% to $46.0 billion in Q3 2026, and consolidated operating margin reached 13.9%, which Amazon described as its highest ever.
- Amazon expects approximately $220 billion in 2026 cash capital expenditures and expects to spend meaningfully more on capex in 2027.
- AWS backlog grew to $578 billion from $496 billion at the end of Q2, according to CEO Andy Jassy.
- Advertising growth slowed to 12% year over year from 26% in the prior quarter, and Amazon attributed part of the slowdown to a Prime Day shift from Q3 into Q2 in most international markets.
- Q4 2026 net sales guidance of $240.0 billion to $247.0 billion and operating income guidance of $28.5 billion to $33.5 billion frame the next quarter.
Quotes
“Almost as fast as we install capacity, customers are gobbling it up”