5 Revealing Analyst Questions From Amazon's Q3 Earnings Call

Amazon’s third quarter was characterized by robust revenue growth across its core businesses, with management emphasizing the acceleration in cloud computing and the expansion of its online retail ecosystem. CEO Andy Jassy highlighted the reacceleration of AWS growth, noting, “AWS is growing at a pace we haven’t seen since 2022.” The surge in AI-driven workloads and increased adoption of new fulfillment services were key contributors. However, the quarter’s profitability was affected by two significant expenses, including a legal settlement and severance costs, which management acknowledged were unique to this period.

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While we enjoy listening to the management's commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls are the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention.

Our Top 5 Analyst Questions From Amazon’s Q3 Earnings Call

• Justin Post (Bank of America) pressed on AWS capacity constraints and Trainium demand. CEO Andy Jassy explained that while AWS added significant capacity this year, demand remains strong, particularly for Trainium, and broader customer access is expected with Trainium3’s rollout.
• Brian Nowak (Morgan Stanley) asked about Trainium3’s hurdles to broader adoption. Jassy said success will depend on price performance, timely delivery, and enhancing the software ecosystem, with evidence from large-scale deployments like Project Rainier supporting its credibility.
• Mark Stephen Mahaney (Evercore ISI) inquired about the future of grocery and headcount. Jassy highlighted strong adoption of perishable grocery delivery and indicated headcount changes are driven by organizational efficiency, not immediate financial or AI considerations.
• Eric Sheridan (Goldman Sachs) questioned the role of robotics and automation. Jassy emphasized ongoing investment in robotics to boost productivity and safety, noting that humans and robots will continue to work collaboratively in fulfillment operations.
• Colin Sebastian (Baird) sought clarity on AWS’s AI versus core infrastructure growth and advertising disaggregation. Jassy attributed AWS growth to both AI and core migration to cloud, and described advertising gains as broad-based, spanning Prime Video, DSP, and new external partnerships.

Catalysts in Upcoming Quarters

In the coming quarters, the StockStory team will closely monitor (1) the pace of AWS AI workload adoption and new customer wins, (2) the rollout and customer traction of same-day grocery delivery and new store concepts, and (3) the scaling of AI-powered advertising and fulfillment automation. Progress in these areas will be key indicators of Amazon’s ability to balance investment-led growth with improving profitability.

Amazon currently trades at $249.25, up from $222.86 just before the earnings. Is the company at an inflection point that warrants a buy or sell? The answer lies in our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members).

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