NEW YORK, Feb 12, 2026, 10:10 EST — Regular session
Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) slipped 0.9% to $202.34 in Thursday morning action after Reuters said Italian tax police had carried out a search at the company’s Milan offices as part of a fresh tax evasion probe. According to the report, authorities also searched the homes of seven Amazon managers and visited KPMG’s offices. Amazon did not respond right away to Reuters’ request for comment. Prosecutors are looking into whether Amazon operated an undeclared “permanent establishment” in Italy between 2019 and 2024, which could have tax implications. Back in December, the company agreed to pay 510 million euros to resolve a different matter. 1
Amazon’s stock just took another blow. It’s now logged seven consecutive losses this February, shedding about 16% and wiping out close to $400 billion in market cap along the way, Dow Jones Market Data told Barron’s. 2
What’s at stake: Investors are sizing up a big jump in capital expenditures—think data centers, chip purchases, and gear—as the company ramps up its AI push. Amazon is eyeing around $200 billion in AI-focused investment for 2026, according to Reuters’ Artificial Intelligencer newsletter. 3
Some Wall Street voices see the issue as more than just about cash; they’re calling it a race problem. D.A. Davidson’s Gil Luria says Amazon is “losing the lead” in cloud computing, now “scrambling to catch up through escalating investment” while Microsoft and Alphabet push forward with their AI ambitions. 4
No big swings across the board. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq started out on the upside Thursday, while the Dow managed a slight gain, according to Reuters. 5
Setting aside tax talk, Amazon is ramping up its healthcare presence. On Wednesday, the company announced its pharmacy arm plans to roll out same-day prescription delivery in roughly 4,500 cities and towns across the U.S. by the end of the year, boosting coverage by close to 2,000 new communities. 6
Amazon has been quietly testing the waters beyond its main operations, according to a fresh regulatory filing. The company, via a wholly owned subsidiary, disclosed in a Feb. 10 Schedule 13G that it holds 11,753,896 shares—amounting to a 5.3% stake—in BETA Technologies, the electric aircraft manufacturer. 7
Big tech is still shadowed by macro forces. Last week, U.S. initial jobless claims edged down by 5,000 to 227,000. Economists see those numbers as a sign of a labor market holding steady—not breaking down. “Claims are well within the recent range over the last two years,” said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics. 8
Amazon’s short-term question boils down to this: will all that extra spending kick in quickly enough for AWS to accelerate and throw off cash, tamping down the “show me” skepticism. Investors keep circling back to free cash flow — what’s left after ops and capex — as the key measure.
Tax and regulatory battles can stretch on, and now the Italy investigation drops onto Amazon’s plate right as it’s working to reassure investors about its AI ambitions. Miss on either front — a steeper tab in Europe or a lag in AI-driven results — and shares could end up reacting to every fresh headline.
Next up, Friday’s January U.S. consumer price index lands at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. Attention also stays fixed on any fresh news from Milan regarding the Amazon probe. 9
