NEW YORK, March 13, 2026, 12:36 PM EDT
Amazon.com shares edged down 0.9% to $207.74 around midday Friday after Amazon Web Services announced a new partnership with Cerebras Systems. The arrangement zeros in on inference—the phase where trained AI models generate responses from prompts. “Every customer large or small is on AWS,” Cerebras CEO Andrew Feldman said. Investors seemed to keep their eyes on the price tag of Amazon’s AI expansion. Reuters
That’s a big deal right now, with Amazon tapping markets for a huge sum to fuel its AI expansion. This week, the company sold $37 billion in U.S. bonds and debuted in Europe with a 14.5 billion euro issue, raising the global total to roughly $54 billion. All this comes after Amazon told investors last month its 2026 capital spending would balloon to $200 billion. Bloomberg.com
Amazon isn’t the only big name tapping the debt markets. Alphabet pulled in around $32 billion last month through U.S. and European bonds, while Oracle has said it’s targeting $45 billion to $50 billion this year to boost its cloud capacity. For context, LSEG data puts Amazon’s 2025 revenue at $716.9 billion with $77.7 billion in net income—figures that help explain why bond buyers came out in force. Reuters
Retail’s heating up on a new front. Amazon is shifting Prime Day into late June this year—Bloomberg News flagged the move on Thursday—a notable change from its usual July slot that pushes the high-profile sale into Q2. Last year, U.S. retailers racked up $24.1 billion in online sales over Prime Day’s four-day run. The timing tweak comes as Walmart turns up the pressure in e-commerce and delivery speed. Reuters
Amazon notched a legal victory in Europe on Friday as a Luxembourg court tossed out a record privacy fine—746 million euros, or $854.4 million—and kicked the dispute back to regulators. The judges found the watchdog hadn’t adequately examined whether Amazon’s actions were intentional or negligent. Amazon, for its part, said it had “strongly disagreed” with the initial decision. Reuters
Still, worries linger. On Thursday, Italian prosecutors pushed for a trial against Amazon’s European division and four executives, alleging tax evasion totaling roughly 1.2 billion euros—even after Amazon settled with Italy’s tax agency back in December. Meanwhile, rising oil prices and persistent inflation are fueling expectations that the Federal Reserve isn’t cutting rates anytime soon. “Inflation remains elevated, sticky,” said Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities. Reuters
That goes a long way toward explaining why investors remain on edge. On Feb. 6, Amazon shares dropped 9% after the company unveiled a $200 billion spending plan. At the time, analysts at MoffettNathanson flagged that “the magnitude of the spend” was higher than most had anticipated, and AJ Bell’s Russ Mould cautioned it’s become easier for the major cloud players to fall short. Reuters
So far, Wall Street isn’t biting. The stock barely budged, with investors holding out for evidence that speedier AI, extra leverage, and a juggled retail calendar will actually pay off.
