Amazon Web Services (AWS) has proven itself remarkably resilient, posting a 20% year-over-year revenue increase just weeks after a catastrophic global outage. The glitch, which took critical services from banks to hospitals offline, ultimately did not deter growth, with the division reporting $33bn in revenue.
This figure topped Wall Street’s $32.42bn estimate and marks the division’s fastest growth since 2022. CEO Andy Jassy celebrated the pace, which helped Amazon as a whole crush earnings expectations. The company’s stock soared 9% as a result.
The $2.4tn parent company reached $180.17bn in revenue and $1.95 earnings per share, far above the $177.82bn and $1.58 that analysts had predicted. The strong report signals that Amazon’s core businesses remain incredibly strong.
The company is also pushing hard to compete in the AI race, where rivals like Microsoft and Google have seen significant stock gains. Amazon highlighted its own efforts, including the Rufus shopping assistant and the expansion of its Zoox robotaxi division.
However, the financial triumph was tempered by the announcement of 14,000 corporate layoffs. While the company’s official post mentioned AI and agility, CEO Andy Jassy told investors the cuts were “culture-driven” in an effort to operate “like the world’s largest startup.”