Why Amazon (AMZN) Stock Is Jumping 10% Despite a Massive AI Capex Hike

Amazon posted second-quarter revenue of $201 billion, beating the $197 billion consensus and marking a 20% year-over-year increase. Shares jumped as much as 10% in after-hours trading Thursday despite the company signaling increased capital expenditure plans tied to AI infrastructure investments.

The revenue beat and stock surge came even as Amazon announced it would ramp up capex spending, a move that typically pressures margins and weighs on share prices. The 20% top-line growth rate suggests accelerating momentum in the company's core retail and cloud businesses, with investors evidently viewing the AI-related spending as a necessary investment to defend Amazon Web Services' market position against Microsoft and Google.

The after-hours move added roughly $180 billion to Amazon's market capitalization, underscoring strong institutional appetite for the print. The combination of revenue upside and tolerance for elevated capex indicates the market is pricing in durable margin expansion even as Amazon builds out data center capacity.