Amazon Sales Rise 12% to $201.94 Billion as AWS Growth Accelerates
Key Facts
Amazon reported sales of $201.94 billion in the quarter ended September 30, 2026, up 12% from the same period last year, according to the Associated Press. Sales then were $180.17 billion. Actual revenue fell short of FactSet’s estimate of $202.2 billion, while earnings per share came in at $1.89, versus a forecast of $1.97. Net income was $20.69 billion, compared with $21.19 billion a year earlier, while earnings per share fell from $1.95. By contrast, growth at AWS, the cloud computing unit, accelerated to 39.3%, making the segment’s performance stronger than the company’s overall growth.
Amazon said the timing of Prime Day affected the year-over-year sales comparison. The event moved from the third quarter to the second quarter this year in most major countries, after falling entirely in the third quarter last year. The company said third-quarter sales growth would have been about 4 percentage points higher if the effect of the event’s timing shift were excluded. Sales grew 12% year over year despite the difference in the timing of the shopping season between the two periods. This means the reported comparison combined the effect of sales expansion with the effect of shifting a major promotional event. FactSet’s sales estimate of $202.2 billion remains above the figure reported by the company.
AWS sales rose 39.3% in the third quarter, compared with growth of 37% in the previous quarter, according to the Associated Press. The news agency described the latest growth pace as the unit’s strongest in about five years. The acceleration follows AWS growth of 37% in the second quarter, above the 28% rate in the first quarter, according to AP’s coverage of the previous quarter’s results. Second-quarter growth was then the fastest in 18 quarters. The comparison shows cloud business growth continuing to improve over recent quarters, while overall sales growth in the third quarter was 12%.
Net income fell to $20.69 billion from $21.19 billion a year earlier, and earnings per share declined to $1.89 from $1.95, according to the Associated Press. Net income in the second quarter of 2026 had reached $62.65 billion, or $5.75 per share, compared with $18.16 billion and $1.68 per share in the corresponding period of 2025. Second-quarter sales were $200.6 billion, versus $167.7 billion a year earlier. The figures show how the comparison base differs from one quarter to another in the company’s results, with the third-quarter year-over-year comparison remaining below year-earlier levels for net income and earnings per share. The available facts did not provide further details on the reasons for the change in third-quarter net income.
Amazon expects fourth-quarter sales of $240 billion to $247 billion, equivalent to year-over-year growth of 12% to 16%, according to the Associated Press. Analysts’ estimate of $244.16 billion falls within that range, so the range alone does not indicate that the company expects sales below that estimate. The fourth quarter falls during the shopping season, and the company said it would hire 300,000 seasonal workers in the United States, compared with 250,000 in the previous season. The company also expects capital expenditure of $220 billion for 2026, according to what Chief Executive Andy Jassy told investors in July, not when the third-quarter results were released. The figure was higher than a $200 billion plan announced in February and spending of $128 billion in 2025.
Jassy said in July that Amazon would not have enough capacity to meet all of the demand expected during the year, even at a capital spending level of $220 billion. He added that demand the company was already receiving for 2028 was “remarkable.” The company reported its results on October 29, and its shares fell more than 5% in extended trading when the results were released, according to the Associated Press. The developments bring together accelerating AWS growth, a high capital investment plan and operational preparations for the shopping season through increased seasonal hiring. The next guidance period is the fourth quarter, for which the company set a sales range of $240 billion to $247 billion.