Key Highlights

● Amazon closed at $240.35 on Friday, October 30, 2026, after a volatile session.

● Cantor Fitzgerald cut its price target to $280 from $310.

● MoffettNathanson raised its target to $357 from $315.

● UBS lifted its target to $352 from $348.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) closed at $240.35 on Friday, October 30, 2026, after a volatile session. The shares were sharply lower before the opening bell, then recovered much of that drop to finish modestly down. The swing came as analysts debated the payoff from the company's heavy AI spending.

On the cutting side, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered its price target to $280 from $310 while keeping an Overweight rating. Citizens trimmed its target to $275 from $315. TD Cowen cut to $340 from $350 and rates the stock Buy, and BofA edged its target down to $317 from $320.

On the other side, MoffettNathanson raised its target to $357 from $315, UBS (NYSE:UBS) lifted its target to $352 from $348, and Mizuho (NYSE:MFG) raised its target to $335 from $330. StoneX (NASDAQ:SNEX) set a target of $380.

The quarter

Amazon's third-quarter results, released after Thursday's close, gave both camps material. Revenue was $201.9 billion, just shy of the roughly $202.2 billion expected, and Earnings of $1.89 a share missed estimates of $1.96 to $1.97.

Amazon Web Services was the bright spot. Cloud revenue reached $45.98 billion, beating the $45.29 billion forecast, and the Backlog stood at $578 billion. Advertising growth slowed.

The concern was cash. Trailing 12-month free Cash Flow was negative $42.4 billion, compared with positive $14.8 billion a year earlier. Amazon held its 2026 Capital spending plan at about $220 billion and signaled another increase next year. Chief Executive Andy Jassy said: "On the CapEx involved to grow the way we're talking about, it's meaningful."

Guidance below the midpoint

The outlook added to the debate. Amazon guided fourth-quarter sales to $240 billion to $247 billion, with the midpoint trailing the $244.5 billion consensus. Its fourth-quarter Operating Income guidance of $28.5 billion to $33.5 billion was centered below the $32.99 billion analysts expected.

The AI spending debate

Amazon's report landed in the middle of a broader reckoning over AI investment. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) suffered its worst day ever on Thursday after reporting negative free cash flow, and Meta (NASDAQ:META) posted its first negative free cash flow quarter since 2012 the previous week. "Together, Amazon, Google, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Meta spent more than $200bn in the third quarter alone," a market analyst said.

The market overall took a beating. The Nasdaq Composite fell 747.73 points to 25,437.00, its worst session since June 5, and the Nasdaq-100 closed at 28,384.85. The S&P 500 lost 140.32 points to 7,580.07 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 572.25 points to 51,770.31. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)'s cash-burn warning drove a rout in semiconductors.

A senior market analyst said: "strong AI Demand is no longer enough on its own."

What to watch

The analyst split sets up a clear test: whether AWS growth and its $578 billion backlog convert into cash quickly enough to offset rising capital spending. The fourth-quarter sales guidance of $240 billion to $247 billion will be the next checkpoint, with the holiday shopping season central to it.

On the calendar, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) reports Monday, November 2, the midterm elections are Tuesday, November 3, and the October jobs report is due Friday, November 6. Markets have priced in a December Fed rate hike, keeping financing costs in focus for companies investing heavily in AI.