- Amazon is raising minimum starting pay for US core operations workers to $20 an hour and average hourly pay to nearly $24, an increase of $1 per hour that the company says costs over $1.5 billion, about 0.06% of its market cap.
- Amazon is adding low-cost banking through Day 1 Financial, First Tech Federal Credit Union membership, and a 20% in-store Whole Foods discount to the pay package.
- Project Mercury expands Amazon's same-day fulfillment footprint from about 85 sites to more than 1,000 by 2031, targeting same-day centers within 10 miles of 80% of US Prime subscribers, with $6.8 billion of spend in 2026-2027 and roughly $7.1 billion of expected financial benefit over the decade.
- Amazon shares edged up to about $249 on the Project Mercury reports, with the analyst consensus at Strong Buy and an average price target of $334.28.
- AWS posted a fifth straight quarter of accelerating growth in Q2 2026 with revenue up 36.7% year over year, a $496 billion committed contract backlog growing at triple-digit rates, and operating margins up 520 basis points.
- Amazon expects roughly $220 billion of cash capital expenditure in 2026, with rising memory prices pressuring free cash flow until new data centers come online.
Quotes
“When you add in the value of our industry-leading benefits, average total compensation comes to more than $32 per hour”
“By 2030, Project Mercury is expected to start bringing in more money than it spends on day-to-day operations.”
“The company has accumulated a $496 billion backlog of committed cloud contracts, growing at triple-digit rates, signaling that demand is no longer the primary constraint”