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.” 1
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. 2
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. 3
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. 4
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. 5
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. 6
