Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the e-commerce giant expects to spend $200 billion in capital expenditures for the year.
That is far above Wall Street forecasts of about $146.6 billion, as it ramps up investment in data centers and infrastructure to meet surging artificial intelligence demand, according to CNBC.
Amazon posted earnings of $1.95 per share in the fourth quarter, narrowly missing analysts’ estimates of $1.97, while revenue of $213.39 billion topped expectations.
Jassy said most of the spending would go to Amazon Web Services, citing strong demand for both core and AI workloads. AWS revenue rose 24% in the quarter, its fastest growth in more than three years, exceeding expectations.
Amazon also forecast first-quarter sales of $173.5 billion to $178.5 billion, roughly in line with estimates. Net income rose to $21.19 billion. The company continues to trim corporate head count even as advertising revenue climbed 23% to $21.3 billion.
Shares of Amazon are down 6.4% in midday Friday trading.