TLDRAWS second-quarter sales climbed 37% to $42.2 billion, while operating income reached $16.6 billion.Amazon’s AI business exceeded a $25 billion annual revenue run rate and continued triple-digit growth.AWS expanded its AI lineup with GPT-6 Astra, Kimi K3, Amazon Quick and Amazon Connect Talent.Amazon’s AI infrastructure spending pushed trailing 12-month free cash flow to a $7.6 billion outflow.Microsoft and Alphabet continue to expand cloud AI operations, keeping competition high for AMZN stock and AWS.Amazon is expanding its artificial intelligence services through AWS, adding new models and workplace tools as investors watch AMZN stock. September launches included OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra on Amazon Bedrock, the Amazon Quick desktop app, Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3, and Amazon Connect Talent.Amazon.com, Inc., AMZNThe additions broaden AWS offerings for companies building AI systems, coding tools, hiring services, and automated workplace software. Amazon said hundreds of thousands of customers use Bedrock, and second-quarter spending on the service exceeded spending across every earlier quarter combined globally. Bedrock now gives customers access to more outside models alongside Amazon’s own technology, while Connect Talent brings AI voice interviews and candidate assessments into recruitment.AMZN Stock Tracks Faster AWS GrowthAWS entered the second half of 2026 with strong growth. Second-quarter sales rose 37% to $42.2 billion, while operating income increased to $16.6 billion from $10.2 billion. The segment’s operating margin widened to 39.4% from 32.9%.Amazon also said its AI business passed a $25 billion annual revenue run rate and grew at triple-digit rates. Recent reports on Amazon’s $8 billion Nvidia chip financing plan show how the company is exploring new ways to fund AI infrastructure while expanding data-center capacity.Heavy AI Spending Pressures Cash FlowAmazon expects third-quarter net sales of $197 billion to $202 billion and operating income of $22.5 billion to $26.5 billion. However, its trailing 12-month free cash flow moved to a $7.6 billion outflow as property and equipment purchases increased by $66.1 billion, mainly for AI infrastructure.The company also warned about memory-chip supply volatility. AWS faces another issue in Europe, where recent reporting on a possible EU cloud compliance deadline shows that regulators may place new requirements on major cloud providers, including Amazon and Microsoft.Cloud Rivals Keep Competition HighAmazon continues to invest as Microsoft and Alphabet expand their own AI cloud businesses. Recent AI investment activity across chip and cloud companies shows that demand for computing capacity remains strong across the sector, keeping spending levels high among large technology firms.Microsoft reported 43% growth in Azure and other cloud services, while Azure revenue exceeded $100 billion for fiscal 2026. Alphabet reported Google Cloud revenue of $24.8 billion, up 82%, with backlog reaching $514 billion. For AMZN stock, AWS growth, margins, and capital returns remain key reported measures.The post AMZN Stock: Can AWS AI Growth Outrun Spending? appeared first on Blockonomi.