Jassy: AWS Capacity for 2026 Sold Out, Most Large 2027 Blocks Reserved
Key Facts
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said AWS cloud computing capacity for 2026 was sold out and most large blocks for 2027 had also been sold, signaling strong demand for AI infrastructure. In a podcast interview, he said the company leaves some capacity for on-demand requests, including Bedrock and EC2 services. So describing capacity as “largely sold out” does not mean every resource available for next year has been reserved. Jassy said Amazon is not meeting a significant portion of existing demand. The comments come ahead of the company’s third-quarter results on October 29.
Reuters quoted Jassy as saying: “2027 capacity is largely sold out. We always leave a certain amount for on-demand requests, for Bedrock inference service or EC2, but most of the large blocks have been sold.” The detail defines the scope of his remarks: large blocks of capacity are largely gone, while some room remains for immediate requests or specific service needs. Reuters described the demand as coming from AI labs and businesses, and said Amazon was struggling to keep up. The report did not offer a broader explanation for the shortage or estimate how much capacity remains available. Jassy referred to capacity reservations, not specific advance commitments for 2028.
AWS business indicators offer a picture of momentum ahead of the upcoming results. The unit’s revenue rose 37% in the second quarter, from April to June, compared with growth of 28% in the previous quarter, its fastest pace in 18 quarters, according to the Associated Press. AWS Chief Financial Officer John Felton also said the order backlog stood at about $500 billion through the second quarter, with demand coming from large and small companies and AI labs. Felton cited the backlog in describing the company as comfortable with its capital spending. These figures add context to Jassy’s comments on capacity, but are not a published forecast for third-quarter revenue.
The demand signals come as Amazon moves toward heavy capital spending to expand its infrastructure. The company previously said it expected to spend about $220 billion on capital expenditures in 2026, according to Reuters. Jassy said Amazon could invest more without that being a poor use of capital. Explaining the economics of spending on AI servers, Felton said the company sees payback periods of less than 3 years. That estimate puts the focus on the company’s ability to turn investment in servers into capacity to serve rising demand. Jassy did not specify in the interview how much additional spending Amazon might decide to make.
Amazon shares rose more than 9% in after-hours trading on July 30 after the second-quarter results and higher spending plan were announced, according to the Associated Press. The gains came despite investor concerns about the effect of heavy spending on cash flow. In the latest trading data cited, the company’s shares closed at $248 on October 23. That closing price alone does not show the market’s reaction to Jassy’s comments on capacity reservations. Amazon is due to report third-quarter results on October 29, its next opportunity to present its financial performance.