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Amazon Shares Surge as Q2 Earnings, AWS Growth Decisively Beat Forecasts
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) shares surged 6.8% in after-hours trading Tuesday after the company delivered second-quarter results that significantly surpassed analyst expectations, fueled by an impressive acceleration in its cloud computing division and a key regulatory win for its autonomous vehicle subsidiary.
Earnings Beat Powers After-Hours Rally
The e-commerce and cloud giant reported total Q2 2026 revenue of $200.6 billion, a 20% increase year-over-year that comfortably beat consensus estimates of approximately $196 billion. Earnings per share came in at $5.75, far exceeding the anticipated $1.82.
The bottom-line figure was substantially boosted by a $53.4 billion non-operating pre-tax gain tied to the company's investment in artificial intelligence firm Anthropic. The strong results pushed the stock to $251.46 in extended trading after closing the regular session at $235.50.
AWS Growth Accelerates, Exceeds Forecasts
The standout performer in the report was Amazon Web Services (AWS), which saw its revenue climb 37% year-over-year to $42.2 billion. This marks the cloud unit's fastest growth rate in 18 quarters and topped analyst forecasts of around $40.5 billion.
AdIn a statement, CEO Andy Jassy described the AWS business as "booming." He also noted that both the company's AI and custom chip businesses had each surpassed annual revenue run rates of more than $25 billion, signaling strong momentum in high-growth sectors.
Zoox Approval Adds to Bullish Sentiment
Adding to the positive catalysts, Amazon’s autonomous vehicle subsidiary, Zoox, received a landmark federal approval on the same day. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) granted Zoox permission to commercially deploy up to 2,500 of its purpose-built, steering-wheel-free robotaxis annually.
This is the first such approval in the U.S. for a paid autonomous ride-hailing service using vehicles without manual human controls. The company plans to begin its commercial service in Las Vegas. The regulatory milestone, combined with the powerful earnings report, created a distinctly company-specific rally that stood in contrast to a mostly flat trading session for the broader market.
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