Topline
Jeff Bezos on Friday became the world’s third-richest person once again, reclaiming the ranking from Google co-founder Sergey Brin as Amazon’s stock accelerated at its fastest pace in four years, following a hotter-than-expected earnings report.
A better-than-expected jump in cloud revenue boosted Amazon’s stock.
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Key Facts
Shares of Amazon surged about 14% shortly after trading opened on Friday, pacing the stock’s largest single-day gain since April 24, 2015 (14.1%).
That burst followed Amazon’s quarterly earnings on Thursday, in which the firm reported $206.6 billion in revenue boosted by a 37% year-over-year surge in cloud sales to $42.2 billion, exceeding Wall Street’s estimates of $197 billion and $40.5 billion, respectively, according to FactSet.
Amazon even raised its spending forecast this year to $220 billion, up from $200 billion, as CEO Andy Jassy said a majority of Amazon’s capital expenditures would go toward matching demand for AI, noting the firm was “unusually well-positioned for this AI inflection.”
Tech firms have been increasingly scrutinized as they raise their projected spending to meet demand for AI, but Forrester analyst Tracy Woo wrote in a note Thursday that Amazon’s cloud sales growth was a “clear indicator” that its investments are “meeting market demand rather than outpacing it.”
Forbes Valuation
Surging Amazon shares added $25 billion to Bezos’ net worth, estimated at $271.5 billion as of Friday morning. That ranks the Amazon founder as the world’s third-richest person between Google co-founders Larry Page ($279.3 billion) and Brin ($257.6 billion).
tangent
Apple shares plunged 9% after the firm issued weaker-than-expected guidance for its current quarter, citing “supply constraints” as it now anticipates revenue growth between 9% and 11%, below estimates of 12%. Apple CEO Tim Cook, who spoke in his last earnings call at the helm of the firm, said Apple expects to “pay even higher memory costs” amid a global memory shortage. “If you look beyond September, we see the market pricing for memory continuing to increase, which could drive an increasing impact on our business,” Cook said.
key background
Bezos and Brin have swapped spots among the world’s wealthiest people multiple times in recent weeks, as investors weigh incoming earnings reports and any signs of weakness in the global AI market. Most of the focus has centered on AI strategy from mega-cap firms, like Amazon, as they navigate an accelerating market and a shrinking memory trade. Earlier this week, Meta shares tanked while Microsoft rallied 15%, as traders took sides on either firm’s approach to their AI products.
