Key Highlights

● Amazon closed at $240.35 on Friday, October 30, 2026, down for the day.

● AWS third-quarter Revenue of $45.98 billion beat the $45.29 billion estimate.

● AWS disclosed a $578 billion Backlog of contracted business.

● Several analysts raised price targets after the report.

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) was one of the most discussed stocks on the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday, October 30, 2026, as investors weighed a strong showing from its cloud Business against the soaring cost of building it. The shares closed at $240.35, down for the day, after trading far more steeply lower before the opening bell.

The Dow lost 572.25 points to close at 51,770.31 in a session dominated by a selloff in AI, chip and megacap technology stocks. The S&P 500 fell 140.32 points to 7,580.07, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 747.73 points to 25,437.00, its worst day since June 5.

AWS delivers

Amazon Web Services, the company's Cloud Computing arm, reported third-quarter revenue of $45.98 billion, ahead of the $45.29 billion analysts expected. Growth was strong, and the unit disclosed a $578 billion backlog of contracted business, a measure of business customers have already committed to but that has not yet been booked as revenue.

Several analysts raised their price targets after the report. MoffettNathanson raised its price target on the stock to $357 from $315, UBS (NYSE:UBS) lifted its target to $352 from $348, and Mizuho (NYSE:MFG) raised to $335 from $330.

The other side of the ledger

The rest of the report was less comfortable. Total revenue of $201.9 billion came in just below the $202.2 billion estimate, and Earnings of $1.89 a share missed estimates of $1.96 to $1.97. Advertising growth slowed. Fourth-quarter sales guidance of $240 billion to $247 billion trailed the $244.5 billion consensus.

Most striking was cash flow. Amazon's trailing 12-month free Cash Flow was negative $42.4 billion, compared with positive $14.8 billion a year earlier. The company held its 2026 Capital spending plan at about $220 billion and said 2027 spending would be "meaningfully more".

"On the CapEx involved to grow the way we're talking about, it's meaningful," CEO Andy Jassy said.

Several analysts trimmed their targets. Cantor Fitzgerald cut to $280 from $310, Citizens to $275 from $315, TD Cowen to $340 from $350 and BofA to $317 from $320, while StoneX (NASDAQ:SNEX)'s target stands at $380.

Part of a bigger debate

Amazon's numbers fed a market-wide argument about whether the AI buildout is worth its price. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) suffered its worst day ever on Thursday after reporting negative free cash flow of $9.1 billion, and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)'s cash-burn warning set off a chip rout on Friday that dragged the Philadelphia Semiconductor index down to 10,688.80. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) retreated on plans to raise $25 billion in bonds.

"Together, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta (NASDAQ:META) spent more than $200bn in the third quarter alone," said a market analyst. A senior market analyst said: "The message from investors is becoming clearer: strong AI Demand is no longer enough on its own."

Investors moved money into energy, consumer staples, health care and utilities. Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT), Amazon's main retail rival, gained on the Dow.

What to watch

Investors will look for more detail on Amazon's 2027 spending plans and on how quickly the AWS backlog converts into revenue and cash. The pace of free cash flow recovery is likely to remain a central question for the stock.

The broader calendar is busy, with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)'s results on Monday, November 2, the midterm elections on Tuesday, November 3, and the October jobs report on Friday, November 6. The Federal Reserve held rates steady this week, but futures markets are pricing a likely December hike.