Amazon shares tumble 10% as investors recoil at the price of AI dominance

Amazon concluded 2025 with record-breaking results, yet market enthusiasm was swiftly curtailed by the retail and cloud giant's ambitious — and exceptionally costly — investment roadmap. While fourth-quarter revenue reached a formidable $213.4bn (up 13.6% year-on-year), comfortably outperforming analyst expectations, earnings per share (EPS) arrived at $1.95, missing the market consensus by a solitary cent. Despite a robust 24% acceleration in its AWS cloud division and a buoyant sales outlook for 2026, investors were rattled by a projected surge in capital expenditure (capex) and a softer-than-expected operating income guide for the first quarter.

Key Figures: Q4 2025

• GAAP EPS: $1.95 (marginally below the $1.96 consensus).

• Revenue: $213.4bn (+13.6% y/y) — a beat of approximately $2.17bn against forecasts.

• Operating Income: c. $25.0bn (up from $21.2bn a year earlier), despite being weighed down by $2.44bn in one-off charges related to tax disputes and severance costs.

• AWS: $35.6bn in revenue (+24% y/y) — a significant acceleration from the 20% growth recorded in the prior quarter.

• Regional Performance: North America $127.1bn (+10%); International $50.7bn (+17%).

Q1 2026 Guidance

• Net Sales: $173.5bn–$178.5bn (exceeding the $173.2bn consensus), implying growth of 11–15% y/y.

• Operating Income: $16.5bn–$21.5bn (trailing market expectations of roughly $22bn).

• Investment Spree: Planned capex for 2026 is set to hit a staggering $200bn, up from $125bn in 2025. The spend is earmarked for the scaling of the Amazon Leo AI model, infrastructure expansion, and a push into "quick commerce."

Analysis: Revenue vs. Retrenchment

Amazon’s fourth quarter represents a textbook case of a company generating stellar top-line growth while operating under mounting cost pressures. To beat the sales consensus by over $2bn at this gargantuan scale is an impressive feat. The marginal miss on EPS was largely a byproduct of non-recurring charges, while underlying operating margins continue to trend upward.

The "crown jewel" of the report remains AWS. The 24% growth rate confirms that the wave of AI-driven investment and the thawing of enterprise cloud budgets are finally materialising in the hard numbers. However, Amazon signals no intention of resting on its laurels; its aggressive 2026 guidance underscores a "growth at all costs" strategy. The company is consciously sacrificing short-term free cash flow to cement its dominance in the clouds and logistics networks of tomorrow.

The primary flashpoint for investors, however, remains the seismic jump in capital expenditure. The prospect of deploying $200bn in a single year has raised alarms regarding future free cash flow. Much like the recent reactions to Alphabet and Microsoft, the market is beginning to lose patience, demanding more tangible evidence that this historic infrastructure spend will yield a commensurate acceleration in bottom-line returns.

Market Reaction

The combination of a massive spending commitment and a conservative operating income target for the first quarter triggered a sharp retreat. In after-hours trading, Amazon shares tumbled as much as 10%. Factoring in today’s 4% decline during the regular session — amid a broader global asset sell-off — the stock is currently trading down roughly 8% in the after-market, though it remains precarious above the psychometric $200 level.

Should the stock open near $205, it would mark its lowest valuation since May 2025, representing a peak-to-trough decline of approximately 25% from its all-time highs.