Amazon's AI Bet Wins Big As Analyst Sees $1 Trillion AWS Opportunity

BNP Paribas analyst Nick Jones said Amazon delivered a strong second quarter, with AWS momentum supporting higher AI-related investment and a path to a much larger cloud opportunity.

AWS Strength Supports The Bull Case

Jones kept a positive view on Amazon with a $345 price forecast, implying 46% upside from the July 30 price of $235.50. He said Amazon beat expectations across the board, driven mainly by AWS and advertising services. Worldwide net sales reached $201 billion, about 2% above the $197 billion consensus estimate. AWS beat consensus by about 4%, while advertising services topped expectations by about 3%.

Jones said AWS backlog grew more than 150% year over year and 36% quarter over quarter to $496 billion, supporting Amazon’s elevated investment levels.

Amazon Profit And EBITDA Beat Expectations

Jones said operating in...