Amazon market cap crosses $3 trillion as AI, cloud growth power stock rally
Shares of the Seattle-headquartered e-commerce and cloud giant had surged 15% on Friday after the company reported its fastest cloud revenue growth in over four years and increased its forecast for annual capital expenditure.
Amazon's market capitalization has surged past the $3 trillion mark for the first time, reaching a record high of $286.20 per share and marking a year-to-date gain of more than 23%. This impressive feat is attributed to strong quarterly results and the growing investor confidence in the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, which is driving demand for the company's cloud-computing business, its largest profit generator.
Among the "Magnificent Seven" technology companies, Amazon and Microsoft are the only two that have seen their heavy AI investments rewarded by investors, while Tesla, Alphabet, and Meta faced pressure due to their aggressive spending plans negatively impacting free cash flow. Amazon has been investing billions of dollars in AI infrastructure, showing its commitment by investing up to $50 billion in OpenAI and Anthropic in April.
Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, Amazon added another $1 trillion to its market value just over two years after crossing the $2 trillion threshold in June 2024. Other companies that have achieved a market capitalization of at least $3 trillion include Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Nvidia, with Nvidia currently being the world's most valuable company with a market capitalization nearing $5 trillion.
The AI-led rally has propelled global stock markets to record levels, supporting broader market sentiment despite geopolitical tensions such as the Iran conflict. However, technology stocks globally have recently come under pressure, raising doubts about the sustainability of the rally and concerns of a potential bubble.
Written by urgent.news from Times of India's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
