Amazon to report Q4 earnings with capex, AI growth in focus

Cloud elephantine Amazon (AMZN) volition study its 4th fourth net aft the doorbell connected Thursday arsenic questions astir overspending and a bubble proceed to canine the AI trade.

Amazon's results travel aft Meta (META) and Microsoft (MSFT) announced their net past week, drafting opposing reactions from the Street. While traders cheered connected Meta, they sold disconnected Microsoft contempt some companies saying they are expanding their AI spending.

The study besides follows Amazon's announcement that it is cutting 16,000 jobs arsenic it seeks to "strengthen our enactment by reducing layers, expanding ownership, and removing bureaucracy."

It's a acquainted strategy crossed Big Tech, with companies similar Microsoft and Meta "flattening" their organizational operation by laying disconnected workers.

Amazon besides said it is closing its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores, replacing immoderate with Whole Foods locations.

Read more: Live sum of firm earnings

Amazon and Microsoft shares person been large laggards implicit the past 12 months, trailing Google by a wide margin.

Amazon banal is down 1.8%, portion Microsoft banal is up little than 1%. Google stock, meanwhile, has soared much than 60%, mostly acknowledgment to the merchandise of its Gemini 3 AI models, which person supplanted OpenAI's (OPAI.PVT) arsenic immoderate of the apical models around.

For the quarter, Amazon is expected to study net per stock (EPS) of $1.96 connected gross of $211.5 billion, up from $1.86 and $187.8 cardinal successful the aforesaid play past year. That represents a 5% leap successful EPS and a astir 13% summation successful revenue.

Amazon's all-important AWS conception is expected to apical retired astatine $34.9 billion, a 21% leap from the $28.8 cardinal the institution reported past year.

Online store income are expected to deed $82.3 billion, up 8.9% twelvemonth implicit year. Amazon's advertizing segment, which accounts for an progressively ample portion of the company's wide sales, is expected to study gross of $21.2 billion. Amazon saw advertizing gross of $17.3 cardinal successful Q4 2024.

Wall Street volition besides beryllium paying adjacent attraction to Amazon's superior expenditures successful the quarter. The institution spent $34.2 cardinal successful currency capex successful Q3 and is expected to summation that to $34.9 cardinal successful Q4.

Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky said during the company's Q3 net telephone that the institution was connected gait to walk $125 cardinal successful 2025 and would proceed to ramp that successful 2026 arsenic the unreality elephantine works to conscionable request for AI.

Amazon's spending could beryllium adjuvant for spot and infrastructure companies, but arsenic Meta's and Microsoft's divergent trajectories successful the banal marketplace implicit the past week person shown, Wall Street appears to beryllium particularly connected borderline erstwhile it comes to capex.