NEW YORK, Jan 24, 2026, 12:49 (EST) — Market closed.
Amazon is back in the spotlight as cloud computing stocks head into next week, following a Reuters report that the company plans another wave of corporate job cuts starting as early as Tuesday. The layoffs will impact Amazon Web Services and are part of a broader effort to reduce roughly 30,000 white-collar roles, after 14,000 were cut in October. CEO Andy Jassy emphasized that the moves are “not really financially driven” but about “culture.” (Reuters)
Why it matters now: investors are running low on patience for lofty promises and hefty spending. A packed earnings schedule and a Federal Reserve meeting this week have traders zeroing in on one harsh question — are AI and cloud investments boosting profits or just driving up costs? The S&P 500 trades above 22 times expected earnings, so “the earnings bar had better be met,” said Franklin Templeton strategist Chris Galipeau. (Reuters)
Friday’s session underscored just how fast sentiment can shift on guidance. Intel plunged 17% after its quarterly revenue and profit outlook came in below expectations. At the same time, most mega-cap tech names climbed. Janus Henderson’s Julian McManus flagged a looming “show-me period,” where firms will need to “put up the revenue growth” to back their price gains. (Reuters)
At Friday’s close, cloud-focused ETFs mostly hovered near flat. WisdomTree Cloud Computing Fund edged down 0.2% to $32.37, and First Trust Cloud Computing ETF dipped 0.2% to $123.35. Meanwhile, Global X Cloud Computing ETF ticked up 0.2% to $21.42. Among big tech names, Microsoft climbed 3.3% to $465.95 and Amazon rose 2.1% to $239.16. Alphabet slid 0.8% to $327.93, Oracle lost 0.6% to $177.16. Salesforce held steady at $228.05, while Snowflake dropped 0.7% to $209.69.
The cloud trade has shifted from pure growth to a focus on healthier margins and tangible returns. As AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google ramp up capacity for AI-intensive workloads, their investments in data centers and chips are weighing on cash flow.
Cost-cutting is back on the agenda in enterprise software. Autodesk plans to slash roughly 7% of its staff while shifting investment toward its cloud platform and AI projects. The company also lifted its guidance, pushing key metrics beyond the high end of previous projections. (Reuters)
Some analysts are dialing back their forecasts, though they maintain bullish calls. UBS’s Karl Kierstead lowered his Microsoft price target to $600, pointing to an “evident de-rating across the software sector.” Still, he highlighted near-term upside linked to Azure’s growth. (Nasdaq)
Cloud computing stocks can still take a sharp hit if earnings fail to justify their valuations. Any signs of weakening enterprise demand, or doubts about AI-driven cloud growth slowing down, would probably weigh heaviest on the higher-multiple software names.
The next major event hits midweek. The Fed will announce its policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET on Jan. 28, with a press conference set for 2:30 p.m. Microsoft is slated to release its fiscal second-quarter earnings after the market closes that day. (Federal Reserve)
