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Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) shares jumped more than 15% on Friday as investors cheered a double beat in the company's second-quarter results and upbeat commentary on its cloud and AI prospects.
BNP Paribas analyst Nick Jones said Amazon delivered a strong quarter, with AWS momentum supporting higher AI-related investment and a path to a much larger cloud opportunity.
Jones maintained a positive view on Amazon with a $345 price target, implying 46% upside from the July 30 closing price of $235.50.
He noted that Amazon beat expectations across the board, driven mainly by AWS and advertising services. Worldwide net sales reached $201 billion, about 2% above the $197 billion consensus estimate. AWS beat consensus by about 4%, while advertising services topped expectations by about 3%.
Jones highlighted that AWS backlog grew more than 150% year-over-year and 36% quarter-over-quarter to $496 billion, supporting Amazon's elevated investment levels.
Operating income came in at $27.5 billion, about 16% above the $23.6 billion consensus estimate. Adjusted EBITDA reached $53.5 billion, about 5% above the $50.8 billion estimate.
Jones said Amazon remains positioned as a key implementation layer in the AI ecosystem, while its other businesses can benefit from AI integrations.
He also noted that management now sees AWS as at least twice its previous several-hundred-billion-dollar opportunity and potentially a $1 trillion business over time.
Jones said Amazon guided third-quarter worldwide net sales to $197 billion to $202 billion, with the midpoint about 2% below the $204 billion consensus estimate. However, he noted that growth would be about 400 basis points higher after excluding the Prime Day shift between 2025 and 2026.
Amazon guided operating income to $22.5 billion to $26.5 billion, with the midpoint slightly below the $25.1 billion consensus estimate. The company also raised its full-year 2026 capital spending outlook to $220 billion from $200 billion, citing higher memory costs.
Jones attributed Amazon's after-hours gain to strong second-quarter results, robust AWS momentum, and better visibility into favorable data-center return dynamics.
The stock carries a Buy rating with an average price target of $326.10. Recent analyst moves include:
Amazon.com shares were up 15.09% at $271.03 at the time of publication on Friday, according to market data.
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