AWS Posts 39.3% Annual Growth to $46 Billion in Third Quarter of 2026

Key Facts

Amazon said AWS sales reached $46 billion in the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, up 39.3% year over year, the segment’s fastest growth in nearly five years. The company said revenue growth exceeded 39%, and the segment’s annualized revenue run rate reached $184 billion. Growth was faster than the 37% increase in the previous quarter, according to the Associated Press. CEO Andy Jassy attributed the performance to AWS investments in jobs and infrastructure. "Our investment in AWS jobs and infrastructure is paying off," he said.

Operating income rose to $28.1 billion in the third quarter, compared with $17.4 billion in the same period of 2025, Amazon said. Operating margin was 13.9%, the highest in the company’s history, according to its statement. Net income, by contrast, fell to $20.7 billion from $21.2 billion a year earlier. Amazon attributed the decline mainly to pre-tax gains of $9.5 billion from its Anthropic investments in the third quarter of 2025. The company reported diluted earnings per share of $1.89, while analysts had expected $1.97, according to the Associated Press.

The infrastructure expansion weighed on free cash flow, which recorded an outflow of $42.4 billion in the 12 months ended September 30, 2026. Free cash flow had recorded an inflow of $14.8 billion in the comparable period of 2025. Amazon linked the shift mainly to a year-over-year increase of $94.8 billion in purchases of property and equipment. The company said the increase primarily reflected its investments in artificial intelligence. Amazon kept its 2026 cash capital expenditure forecast at about $220 billion.

Cash capital expenditures totaled $75.9 billion in the third quarter of 2026, compared with $34.2 billion in the same period a year earlier. The company expects a meaningful increase in capital spending in 2027, driven primarily by technology infrastructure investments. Jassy said Amazon expects AWS revenue to grow by more than 40% in both 2027 and 2028. In after-hours trading on October 29, the company’s shares fell 7% when results were released, according to the Associated Press. Analysts had expected third-quarter sales of $202.2 billion and earnings of $1.97 per share, according to FactSet as cited by the news agency.

For the fourth quarter of 2026, Amazon expects sales of between $240 billion and $247 billion, a range equivalent to year-over-year growth of between 12% and 16%. The top end of the forecast is $247 billion, while analysts’ average estimate is $244.16 billion, according to the Associated Press. The range puts the company ahead of the holiday season with revenue expected to exceed the year-earlier period, while remaining below the analyst average. The forecast also follows accelerating AWS growth and higher capital spending tied to technology infrastructure. The company says AWS revenue will grow by more than 40% in both 2027 and 2028.