NEW YORK, Feb 15, 2026, 10:09 EST — Market closed
- Amazon finished Friday at $198.79, slipping 0.4% and wrapping up a nine-day losing streak for the stock.
- Amazon’s $200 billion capex plan for 2026 is still drawing investor attention, with questions swirling around its impact on cash returns.
- U.S. markets take a pause Monday for Washington’s Birthday. The Fed minutes are set for release Feb. 18.
Amazon.com Inc (AMZN) slipped another 0.4% Friday to close at $198.79, marking a ninth consecutive decline—something the stock hasn’t seen since 2006. That tumble adds up to about an 18% loss in that run, putting shares more than 20% below their November high. By most traders’ reckoning, that’s deep enough to call it a bear market, the standard being a 20% drop from a recent top.
This isn’t just about an ugly chart. Amazon now represents a broader concern—Big Tech’s pouring money into artificial intelligence infrastructure, and investors want to start seeing clear payoffs.
The debate intensified after Amazon projected capital expenditures of roughly $200 billion for 2026, a jump from $131 billion the year before—heavy spending aimed at data centers, chips, and related infrastructure. CEO Andy Jassy pushed back on criticism, saying, “it’s very different having 24% year-over-year growth on $142 billion annualized run rate” versus hitting high-percentage gains off a smaller base. But skepticism isn’t fading. Dave Wagner, who manages money at Aptus Capital Advisors, put it bluntly: “The market just dislikes the substantial amount of money that keeps getting put into capex for these growth rates.” Reuters
“Rising capital intensity isn’t exactly news, but the sheer scale of the spend is well above what consensus had in mind,” analysts at MoffettNathanson wrote. Over at AJ Bell, investment director Russ Mould pointed to a rotation out of names “where positive surprises may be hard to achieve and it is easier to disappoint than many may think,” a dynamic dragging down other cloud-focused players like Microsoft and Alphabet. Reuters
Douglas J. Herrington, Amazon’s CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores, unloaded 1,000 shares at $208 apiece on Feb. 11, according to a securities filing signed Friday. The sale, carried out under a Rule 10b5-1 plan put in place back in November, trimmed his stake to 504,934 shares. That’s per the filing.
With U.S. equities markets shut Monday for Washington’s Birthday, Amazon won’t resume normal trading until Tuesday. Holiday-thinned liquidity sometimes fuels outsized swings, a risk that’s sharper for stocks already feeling the heat.
Investors will get their next dose of macro data Wednesday, as the Federal Reserve releases minutes from its Jan. 27-28 meeting. Growth stocks, especially, have felt the sting from concerns that rates could stay elevated for longer—those future profits start to look a lot less valuable.
And then there’s Nvidia. The chipmaker plans to report its latest results on Feb. 25, with a call set for 5 p.m. ET. Traders tend to treat the company’s guidance as a read on data-center appetite and how fast AWS and other so-called “hyperscalers”—the major cloud players—are ramping up their spending. NVIDIA Newsroom
This trade doesn’t stick to one direction for long. Investors might see Amazon’s expansion as a crucial move to defend AWS and steady the stock. But if expenses outpace sales—or if the returns seem far off—the decline could drag on.
Traders are eyeing Tuesday’s reopening to gauge whether the selling pressure is letting up. With the Fed minutes set for Feb. 18 and Nvidia’s Feb. 25 call approaching, the AI spending narrative hangs in the balance.
