Background on Jeff Bezos and Amazon
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, has built one of the most influential companies in the world. Starting as an online bookstore in 1994, Amazon has grown into a global e-commerce behemoth offering a vast array of products and services, including cloud computing through Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Amazon’s Stock Performance
On Friday, Amazon’s stock surged nearly 10%, following the release of its third-quarter results that demonstrated robust growth in its cloud computing division and alleviated concerns about the company falling behind in artificial intelligence (AI) development.
The shares of the largest cloud services provider climbed 9.58% on Friday, reaching an all-time high of $244.22 during the session. Year-to-date, Amazon’s stock has increased by 11.32%.
Market Capitalization and Ranking
With these results, Amazon added $22.83 billion to its market value, making it the fifth most valuable company in the stock market with a total valuation of $2.611 trillion, according to Economatica data.
AWS Performance and Market Concerns
Amazon Web Services (AWS) revenues grew by 20% in the third quarter. Although Microsoft Azure’s revenue increased by 40% and Google Cloud’s by 34%, AWS’s larger scale amplifies its impact on overall growth.
“There were concerns about AWS losing market share to Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, but now it’s also on the rise, experiencing significant revenue growth,” said Jed Ellerbrock, portfolio manager at Argent Capital.
AWS generated $33 billion in revenue during the third quarter, more than double Google Cloud’s $15.16 billion.
Executive Commentary and Market Reaction
Andy Jassy, Amazon’s CEO, highlighted that AWS is growing at an unprecedented rate since 2022 due to strong demand for AI and basic infrastructure.
“Amazon delivered one of the best results this season, dispelling any lingering doubts about its ability to execute at scale,” said Farhan Badami, analyst at eToro.
Prior to Friday, Amazon’s stock had only risen 1.6% in 2025 due to investor concerns about its market share and lack of AI updates, making it the worst performer among the “Seven Dwarfs” group, which includes tech giants like Microsoft and Apple.
The Friday gains propelled Amazon past Meta and Apple in market performance. Meta’s parent company, Facebook, has seen a 10.73% increase in stock value this year, while Apple, the laggard among the “Seven Dwarfs,” has experienced a 7.97% rise.
Key Questions and Answers
- Who is Jeff Bezos and why is Amazon relevant? Jeff Bezos founded Amazon, which started as an online bookstore and has since grown into a global e-commerce leader offering diverse products and services, including cloud computing through AWS.
- What caused Amazon’s stock surge? Strong third-quarter results, particularly in the cloud computing division (AWS), and alleviation of concerns about AI development led to a nearly 10% increase in Amazon’s stock price.
- How does AWS compare to competitors like Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud? Despite growth rates of 40% for Azure and 34% for Google Cloud, AWS’s larger scale contributes significantly to overall growth, with third-quarter revenues of $33 billion compared to Google Cloud’s $15.16 billion.
- What are investors’ concerns about Amazon’s market share and AI updates? Investor worries centered around Amazon losing market share to competitors like Microsoft and falling behind in AI development, causing its stock to underperform among the “Seven Dwarfs” group.
- How does Amazon’s performance compare to other tech giants? Following the stock surge, Amazon overtook Meta (Facebook’s parent company) and Apple in market performance for 2025.
