Amazon's Capital Expenditure Surges, Impacting Stock Prices

Amazon has increased its capital expenditure budget to $200 billion this year, marking a nearly 53% rise compared to the previous year and significantly exceeding market expectations of approximately $145 billion. According to RTHK, this announcement led to a sharp decline in Amazon's stock price, dropping over 10% in after-hours trading. Other tech giants such as Microsoft, Google's parent company Alphabet, and Meta have also disclosed their capital expenditure plans for the year, indicating that substantial investments in artificial intelligence (AI) will continue in the short term. Alphabet's capital expenditure is projected to be between $175 billion and $185 billion, while Meta's is estimated to range from $115 billion to $135 billion. In the last quarter, Amazon reported a profit of $21.19 billion, an increase of about 6% year-on-year, with adjusted earnings per share rising to $1.95, which fell short of expectations. Revenue increased by nearly 14% to $213.39 billion, slightly surpassing forecasts. Notably, Amazon Web Services (AWS) saw a growth of approximately 24% to $35.58 billion, marking the fastest growth in over three years. The company anticipates revenue for the current quarter to be between $173.5 billion and $178.5 billion, with operating profit expected to range from $16.5 billion to $21.5 billion.