Amazon Raises 2026 Capital Spending Plan to US$220 Billion as AWS Growth Accelerates

Amazon.com Inc. plans to spend US$220 billion on capital expenditures this year after reporting stronger-than-expected second-quarter results, driven by accelerating growth at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amanda Gerut reported for Fortune Tech.

Amazon has accelerated cloud growth and expanded AI investments. [Photo: Amazon]

Amazon shares climbed more than 9 percent in after-hours trading following the earnings release.

AWS generated US$42.2 billion in second-quarter revenue, up 37 percent from US$30.9 billion a year earlier, marking its fastest growth in 18 quarters.

Quarter-over-quarter, AWS added more than US$4.6 billion in revenue.

Operating income at AWS rose 64 percent to US$16.6 billion, while its operating margin improved to 39.4 percent from 32.9 percent a year earlier.

AWS's backlog—customer contracts representing future revenue—expanded to US$496 billion.

"AWS is now a US$169 billion annualized revenue run-rate business, which would rank 24th on the Fortune 500 if it were a standalone company," Amazon Chief Executive Andy Jassy said during the earnings call.

Jassy also announced that Amazon now expects 2026 capital expenditures of US$220 billion, up from its previous estimate of US$200 billion, primarily because of rising memory costs and continued investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure.