In brief
Amazon’s third‑quarter revenue climbed 12% to $201.94 billion, driven largely by a 39.3% jump in AWS sales, but net income dropped 2.4% to $20.69 billion after a $9.5 billion pretax gain related to its AI investment. The company’s free cash flow went negative, reflecting heightened spending on AI infrastructure. Analysts note growth in cloud and advertising revenue while challenging earnings and cash flow metrics.
In its August‑September earnings announcement, Amazon reported a 12‑percent rise in net sales to $201.94 billion, while net income fell 2.4 percent to $20.69 billion, as noted by Xinhua on Oct. 29 and echoed by Malaysian news outlet The Star.
Xinhua, citing the Amazon quarterly report, highlighted that the cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services (AWS), generated $45.98 billion in net sales, up 39.3 percent year‑on‑year, marking its fastest growth in nearly five years. Operating income for AWS rose 55 percent to $17.77 billion from $11.43 billion a year earlier, contributing to the overall sales increase.
The source also reported that advertising services sales increased 11 percent year‑on‑year to $19.64 billion, adding another element to Amazon’s revenue mix.
Xinhua attributed the 2.4 percent decline in net income to a sizable pretax gain of $9.5 billion from Amazon’s investment in AI company Anthropic during the third quarter of 2025. This gain, while boosting profitability on paper, did not translate into operating earnings for the current quarter.
The report further noted that Amazon’s free cash flow turned negative in the twelve months ended September 30, recording an outflow of $42.4 billion compared with an inflow of $14.8 billion a year earlier. The cash flow shift was said to reflect increased investment in AI infrastructure.
The Star’s coverage, aligned with the official data, confirmed the same figures: net sales of $201.94 billion, net income of $20.69 billion, and a year‑on‑year net sales increase of 12 percent. While the outlet did not provide the detailed breakdown of AWS and advertising sales, it mirrored Xinhua’s emphasis on the pretax gain from Anthropic as the primary factor behind the earnings dip.
Looking ahead, Amazon’s guidance for the fourth quarter projects net sales ranging from $240 billion to $247 billion, representing year‑on‑year growth of 12 percent to 16 percent, and operating income between $28.5 billion and $33.5 billion, a rise from $25 billion a year earlier, according to Xinhua. The Star did not report on forward guidance, focusing instead on the quarter’s results.
Analysts highlight that the substantial growth in AWS revenue aligns with industry expectations of cloud demand, while the decline in net income underscores the impact of non‑operating gains and strategic investments. Amazon continues to prioritize AI development, which shapes its long‑term investment strategy despite short‑term earnings volatility.
