Amazon Shares Surge Following Strong Q3 Results

Amazon's shares surged nearly 7% following strong third-quarter earnings that exceeded expectations, reporting a 54% increase in net profits to $15.3 billion on $158.9 billion in net sales. Analysts responded positively, with multiple firms, including Wedbush and JPMorgan, raising their price targets to as high as $270, citing significant growth in Amazon's AI and cloud computing segments. The company announced plans to invest $75 billion in capital expenditures this year, primarily for technology infrastructure to support AI demand, which is growing three times faster than AWS did at a similar stage. Amazon also achieved its highest quarterly operating income ever, with revenue across all business segments increasing. As the holiday season approaches, the company plans to hire 250,000 workers and anticipates a 7-11% rise in net sales for Q4. The stock is now trading above $2 trillion in market capitalization, reflecting a year-to-date increase of over 31%.