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AWS will be a $1T business, Jassy says. But first, it will spend big
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On Thursday’s quarterly earnings call, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy reiterated that AWS can become a trillion-dollar annual revenue business. He said Amazon is building something unlike anything seen before and that no business has ever reached $1 trillion in annual revenue. Reaching that goal, he said, will require substantial infrastructure investment first.
Amazon expects 2026 cash capital expenditures of approximately $220 billion, with the majority allocated to AWS, Jassy said. It expects to spend meaningfully more in 2027, citing a clear line of sight to financial returns. The AI infrastructure buildout has been an ongoing investor concern this year.
AWS revenue increased 39% from the year-ago quarter, marking its sixth straight quarter of steady growth. Jassy forecast that AWS can grow north of 40% in both 2027 and 2028. He described AWS as a $184 billion annualized revenue run-rate business with an extraordinary opportunity.
Jassy said AWS could become a trillion-dollar revenue business within five to 10 years. He cited continued innovation, new core and AI functionality, enterprise demand for running core and AI workloads on AWS, and annual capacity additions. He added that enterprise AI adoption remains in its very early days and that the strategy is working.
Wall Street analysts repeatedly asked Jassy to explain the spending, the signals supporting growth, and expected profit margins. He characterized the AI boom as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that justified the commitment. He said Amazon will invest to continue being the leader and can fund the plan.
Investors remained concerned, and shares fell about 6% in after-market trading on Thursday. The reaction underscores the tension between long-term AI ambitions and near-term spending. Microsoft recently posted record-breaking revenue growth driven largely by cloud and has also spent heavily, placing Amazon in the same high-stakes race.
