Stock Market Today, Feb. 5: Amazon Shares Drop on Tech Sell-Off Ahead of Earnings and AWS Growth Outlook
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), global e-commerce leader and cloud provider, closed Thursday at $222.69, down 4.42%. The stock declined during the regular session as investors reacted to a broader tech and AI sell-off. Investors were waiting for details on AWS cloud growth, AI capex, and guidance.
Trading volume reached 87.3 million shares, coming in about 110% above its three-month average of 41.5 million shares. Amazon IPO'd in 1997 and has grown 227,327% since going public.
How the markets moved today
The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) fell 1.20% to 6,800, while the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) lost 1.59% to finish at 22,541. Within e-commerce and cloud computing, industry peers Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) closed at $157.76 (-0.87%) and Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) finished at $126.94 (-0.83%), underscoring broader pressure on large retail and platform names.
What this means for investors
Today’s sell-off continued after hours, when Amazon reported mixed results. Earnings slightly disappointed, but revenue of $213.4 billion exceeded expectations. AWS cloud service revenue rose 24% year over year, beating estimates.
Capital spending guidance may have spooked investors, though, similar to last night’s update from Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL). Amazon said it expects roughly $200 billion in capital spending in 2026. That staggering number mirrors Alphabet’s surprise last night, saying it would double capex year over year in 2026 to about $180 billion.
Yet if investors start to see the path for a return on those investments, Amazon stock may quickly recover the nearly 10% after-hours drop and continue to march higher from here.
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Howard Smith has positions in Alphabet and Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, and Walmart. The Motley Fool recommends Alibaba Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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