Amazon smashes sales, but Wall Street flinches at the bill

Amazon just posted a blockbuster holiday quarter, with Q4 sales surging 14% to a record $213.4 billion as AWS and AI demand powered growth.

But the celebration faded fast after management unveiled plans to pour around $200 billion into AI, data centres and infrastructure in 2026 - far above what markets were expecting.

The result was a sharp sell-off, as investors debated whether Amazon’s massive AI bet cements long-term dominance or risks squeezing margins in the years ahead.