Strong Performance, Fluctuating Stock: Tech Giant Bets $200 Billion on AI

Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) reported fourth-quarter 2025 net sales of $213.4 billion—about ₩280 trillion—a 14 percent increase year-over-year. Full-year sales rose 12 percent to $716.9 billion. Thanks to double-digit growth in AWS and advertising, both operating income and net income increased. However, one-time charges in Q4—stemming from the resolution of an Italian tax dispute, restructuring costs and asset impairments at physical stores—were recorded, and capital expenditures surged on investments in AI, custom chips and satellite internet. As a result, trailing-12-month free cash flow stood at $11.2 billion (roughly ₩15 trillion).

For the first quarter of 2026, Amazon expects revenue growth of 11–15 percent and operating income of $16.5–21.5 billion, noting higher costs tied to its low-Earth-orbit satellite business, Amazon Leo, and expanded international quick-commerce investments. Under a preset trading plan, Douglas Herrington, CEO of Global Stores, sold approximately $200,000 (about ₩300 million) of Amazon shares.

Following Amazon’s announcement that it will invest about $200 billion (around ₩260 trillion) in 2026 alone in AI, robotics, chips and low-Earth-orbit satellites, the stock has dipped roughly 5–10 percent amid concerns over near-term spending. At the same time, enthusiasm for new businesses has grown as Amazon accelerates the rollout of Alexa Plus—its next-generation AI assistant service available at no extra charge to Prime members—and moves ahead with commercial launches of its Amazon Leo satellite network.

Amazon, one of the leading U.S. big-tech companies anchored by e-commerce and cloud infrastructure, competes with Microsoft and Google in generative AI and cloud services through AWS. With the wider tech industry aggressively investing in data centers, AI semiconductors and satellite communications, Amazon’s massive capital-investment plans are being watched as a major indicator of future U.S. IT and telecom infrastructure investment trends.