NEW YORK, Feb 8, 2026, 09:44 EST — Market closed
- Amazon shares slid 5.6% to $210.32 on Friday, with the drop coming as investors zeroed in on increased AI-related spending.
- Big Tech’s hefty spending is now the market’s pain point, drawing sharp focus to cloud profits and cash generation.
- U.S. jobs and inflation numbers due next week might shake up rate bets and tech stock valuations.
Amazon.com (AMZN.O) finished Friday at $210.32, shedding 5.6%. The stock heads into the weekend under pressure with U.S. markets set to reopen Monday. 1
Amazon’s disclosure of a hefty $200 billion capital spending plan triggered the selloff, adding to jitters about whether the sector can recoup a flood of AI-related investment. That capex—money tied up in data centers and chips—hits free cash flow up front, with payback uncertain and usually lagging. “The magnitude of the spend is materially greater than consensus expected,” analysts at MoffettNathanson said. Russ Mould of AJ Bell flagged a broader move away from names where “positive surprises may be hard to achieve.” 2
By Sunday, the conversation had stretched well past a single company. According to Tim Murray, capital markets strategist at T. Rowe Price, investors are “turning to cheaper, smaller companies,” and he’s seeing “a wave of aggressive buying of altogether different stocks.” ProShares’ Simeon Hyman chimed in too, saying the rally’s broadening “is here to stay.” 3
Friday’s session was choppy. The Dow pushed past 50,000 for the first time on record. The S&P 500 notched a 1.97% gain; the Nasdaq climbed 2.18%. Amazon slipped, but chip names rallied as investors bet on more AI data-center spending. “There’s real demand for AI products,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird, who thinks there’s now a “floor” where buyers move in on pullbacks. 4
Amazon kicked off with its own results, laying out a capital expenditure plan of $200 billion for 2026, up from $131 billion a year earlier. For the first quarter, operating income is expected to land between $16.5 billion and $21.5 billion, coming in short of the $22.04 billion analysts polled by LSEG had penciled in. “We are being incredibly scrappy,” CEO Andy Jassy told investors. Dave Wagner, portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors, noted the market’s frustration: “dislikes the substantial amount of money that keeps getting put into capex.” But D.A. Davidson’s Gil Luria countered that Amazon “has to invest at these levels just to stay in the race.” 5
Heading into Monday, traders are eyeing whether the stock can stabilize after dropping for two sessions. They’re also bracing for analysts to tweak their AWS growth models and factor in the latest on spending cycles. Amazon’s cloud division is still the main piece investors link to the AI narrative, but these days, it’s stacked right up against Microsoft and Alphabet—a much closer matchup than this time last year.
The risk is clear: slower returns, bigger cash burn. That’s when Wall Street may start factoring in a longer stretch of margin and free cash flow pressure—particularly if demand falters or spending just keeps climbing.
Regulators threw in a new twist. Germany’s cartel office slapped a ban on Amazon’s ability to enforce price caps for third-party sellers on its German marketplace, and hit the company with an initial demand for 59 million euros ($69.54 million). Amazon isn’t taking it lying down—country manager Rocco Braeuniger called it an “unprecedented regulatory decision” and confirmed plans to appeal. 6
Another detail surfaced in a separate filing. According to Amazon’s prospectus, the company used a “shelf” registration, a standard move that lets it issue securities “from time to time” through multiple offerings if it chooses. It’s a flexible way to maintain access to capital. 7
Macro data takes center stage for the next big moves. January’s U.S. jobs report lands Feb. 11 at 08:30 a.m. ET, followed by the Consumer Price Index for the same month coming out Feb. 13, also at 08:30 a.m. ET. Both releases have the potential to jolt rate expectations and ripple through to long-duration growth names such as Amazon. 8
