NEW YORK, January 2, 2026, 09:41 ET — Regular session
- Amazon shares fell 0.7% to $230.82 in early trading.
- Investors are weighing how long the AI-led rally can last as rate-cut expectations reset into 2026.
- Amazon’s next earnings update, expected in early February, is the next key catalyst.
Amazon.com, Inc. shares (AMZN) fell 0.7% to $230.82 in early trading on Friday.
The stock is one of the “Magnificent Seven” — a group of the biggest U.S. tech-related companies — that helped drive a third straight year of double-digit gains for the broader market in 2025 on AI optimism and lower interest rates. “Everything firing on all cylinders” is needed for another strong year, Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA, said in a Reuters report. 1
Traders are also resetting expectations for the Federal Reserve after a series of rate cuts in 2024 and 2025, with the next U.S. jobs report due on Jan. 9. That data will help shape bets on how quickly the Fed eases policy in 2026, Reuters wrote. 2
The debate over returns on AI infrastructure spending sharpened this week after Reuters reported Brookfield is starting a cloud business tied to a $10 billion AI fund to lease chips inside data centers directly to AI developers. Reuters said the move could pressure cloud providers such as Amazon and Microsoft to show payback from capital expenditure, or capex — cash spent on data centers, chips and other equipment.
The broader market backdrop was steadier, with U.S. futures pointing to a firmer start to 2026 after a late-December slide led by technology shares. That drop fizzled the usual “Santa Claus rally” — the tendency for stocks to rise into year-end — and investors have been repositioning for broader sector leadership, Reuters reported.
Other big tech shares were also lower in early trade, with Microsoft down about 0.8%, Alphabet off 0.3% and Nvidia down 0.5%.
With investors leaning on macro signals at the start of the year, Amazon often trades as a proxy for sentiment around enterprise cloud demand and the pace of AI data-center buildouts.
Amazon’s last quarterly update in late October helped underpin the stock after Amazon Web Services showed stronger growth and CEO Andy Jassy pointed to demand in AI and core infrastructure. 3
The next major catalyst is Amazon’s next earnings report, which Nasdaq and Yahoo Finance list as expected around Feb. 5, after the market close. 4
Heading into that report, investors are watching for changes in AWS growth rates, the trajectory of advertising and retail operating margins, and management’s tone on capex.
For Friday’s session, traders will track scheduled economic data and moves in Treasury yields, which can quickly shift valuations for growth-heavy tech stocks.
Amazon enters 2026 with investors still focused on the payback from the industry’s AI spending cycle — and how much discipline companies show as the bill comes due.
