Jassy: Most of AWS’s 2028 Capacity Sold, Demand Exceeds What Amazon Can Meet
Key Facts
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said a large portion of AWS cloud computing capacity for 2028 has been sold, after the company previously reported that most large blocks for 2027 were sold out. Jassy said demand from AI labs and companies exceeds what Amazon can meet. He said the company leaves some capacity for on-demand requests, including its Bedrock inference service and EC2 services. The comments underscore the gap between customer demand and available capacity as the use of AI-related computing expands. Jassy did not specify how much 2028 capacity had been reserved or how much remained available.
Jassy said Amazon always leaves "a certain amount for on-demand requests and the Bedrock inference service or EC2," indicating that selling most large blocks does not mean all resources have been reserved. The remaining capacity provides room for companies’ on-demand needs, alongside inference and computing services. But Jassy said overall demand from AI labs and companies exceeds the company’s ability to meet it. Flexibility in allocating some resources therefore coincides with constraints on meeting existing demand. The comments gave no figure for remaining capacity or estimate of unmet demand.
AWS figures show sales growth accelerated in the first half of 2026. Sales rose 28% year over year in the first quarter, then growth increased to 37% in the second quarter, which ran from April to June. That put the second-quarter rate above the previous quarter, during a period of expanding demand for cloud computing services. The acceleration coincides with Jassy’s comments about the difficulty of meeting customer demand for capacity. The backlog also provides another indication of expected activity at the unit, though it does not by itself specify when orders will convert into revenue.
AWS Chief Financial Officer John Felton said the backlog approached $500 billion through the second quarter of 2026. It includes orders from large and small companies, major enterprises and AI labs, he said. This diversity offers a picture of the sources of demand for AWS services, from companies to labs that need computing resources. The backlog figure also puts Jassy’s comment that demand currently exceeds what Amazon can meet into context. The size of the backlog does not mean its full value will convert to revenue in a single period; Felton did not specify a time frame for fulfilling the orders.
On investment, Amazon raised its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to $220 billion. The plan includes spending on data centers, robotics, semiconductors and satellites, making the figure broader than cloud infrastructure investment alone. Reuters quoted Jassy as saying Amazon "could invest more, and that would not be a bad use of capital." The comment links continued spending to the company’s view of demand opportunities, without specifying the scale or timing of any potential increase. Felton said AWS’s payback period on AI servers is less than 3 years, providing an estimate of the time needed to recoup this type of investment.
Amazon shares had risen by more than 9% in after-hours trading on July 30, 2026, after the company reported second-quarter results and a higher spending plan. The stock move followed the results and spending announcement, while Jassy’s comments on capacity and the backlog put AWS’s future performance outlook in focus. That move does not establish investors’ reaction to the capacity reservation comments reported later. Amazon is scheduled to report third-quarter results on October 29, its next financial results announcement. The results will offer an opportunity to track AWS performance alongside the capital spending the company expects.