New York, January 16, 2026, 16:16 ET — After-hours
- After the bell, Amazon shares edged up roughly 0.4% to $239.07.
- Nigeria has given Amazon’s Kuiper a seven-year license to operate Ka-band broadband satellites, valid through February 2033.
- AWS launched a Europe-only “sovereign cloud” in response to growing customer demand for stricter control over sensitive data.
Amazon.com shares ticked up 0.4% in after-hours trading Friday, closing at $239.07. The move followed Nigeria’s approval of satellite permits for Amazon’s Kuiper Systems, opening a fresh market for its space-based broadband effort. Nigeria’s regulator granted Kuiper a seven-year licence to operate Ka-band services — the high-frequency spectrum essential for satellite broadband — covering February 2026 through February 2033.
The shift comes as investors scramble to figure out Amazon’s next growth driver beyond e-commerce. The stock now reflects two major wagers that require significant upfront investment: AWS’s AI workload capacity and a satellite network that hasn’t yet reached scale.
The issue taps into a well-known tension for major U.S. tech companies: control and access. Regulators and big clients demand greater influence over data location, who can access it, and the fallout if export laws or political shifts complicate matters.
Amazon announced Friday that Arianespace aims to launch 32 satellites on Feb. 12 using an Ariane 6 rocket, boosting its low-Earth-orbit network. These satellites operate much closer to Earth than typical broadcast satellites, reducing latency but demanding a larger constellation to maintain coverage.
On Thursday, AWS unveiled a Europe-only “sovereign cloud” service targeting customers concerned about U.S. legal access to their data. “This will allow the cloud to operate even if the European Union were disconnected from the internet,” AWS Germany CTO Michael Hanisch told Reuters. He added the infrastructure is designed to be physically and legally isolated from AWS’s other servers. AWS is backing the project with over 7.8 billion euros in investment. The first data centre is under construction in Brandenburg, near Berlin, as AWS vies with Microsoft and Google for Europe’s security-conscious clients. Reuters
Amazon’s spending is filtering down into the AI supply chain. Rio Tinto announced Thursday it will provide copper from its Nuton leaching program to Amazon for AI data centers under a two-year deal, though financial details weren’t disclosed. Copper prices recently surged past $13,000 a metric ton, fueled by expectations that demand from data centers will strain an already tight market.
Not every side bet is risk-free—some carry steep losses if counterparties falter. This week in U.S. bankruptcy court, Amazon challenged elements of Saks Global’s rescue financing plan, cautioning that its $475 million equity stake might end up “worthless.” Amazon’s lawyer, Caroline Reckler, told the judge the company has “little to no confidence” Saks will pull through bankruptcy. Reuters
U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday following a volatile week, with markets shutting down Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. That leaves a thin trading window before reopening on Tuesday.
Amazon traders now eye execution and timelines: can Kuiper turn licences—like Nigeria’s—into paying customers without botching launch schedules? And will the Europe “sovereign cloud” snag major contracts as data-sovereignty rules tighten? February 12 marks the next key date on the satellite calendar, set to gauge cadence as much as hardware readiness.
