The global distribution giant continues to close record results. During the first quarter of 2026, Amazon achieved revenues of 181.519 billion dollars (about 155.5 billion euros), 17% more than in the same period last year. Meanwhile, the company’s profits climbed 77% to 30.255 billion dollars. Although the impact of the Iran war initiated by the United States at the end of February was not fully felt in the previous quarter, the company already warns that it will have effects for it in successive presentations.
By segments, one of the most closely watched areas at Amazon is the evolution of its digital services. Amazon Web Services raised its revenues to 37.587 billion dollars, an increase of 28%. On the other hand, the bet of the company founded by Jeff Bezos to remain one of the tech giants that set the pace of the markets has a price. In capex (capital expenditure), an item that includes expenses for building data centers and other capital investments, Amazon has dedicated just in three months 44.203 billion dollars, 77% more and in line with analysts’ expectations.
The logistics giant enjoys good health in terms of popularity. According to data from the specialized portal SemRush, an Adobe platform, Amazon is the thirteenth most visited website in the world, with 2.51 billion monthly visitors as of the end of March 2026.
So far this year, Amazon shares have risen 16%, with the company marking historic highs just before the earnings presentation and a market value of 2.83 trillion dollars (2.42 trillion euros). In after-hours trading, Amazon’s stock has shown volatility, reflecting both the strength of the results and doubts about the sharp increase in investment spending, especially in artificial intelligence infrastructure and data centers, which continues to pressure the group’s free cash flow. In the futures market, Amazon shares fall 2% despite the improvement recorded in profits.
Read more May 1st Marches in Colombia 2026: routes, meeting points, schedules, and key information for the day
As the race for artificial intelligence accelerates, so do the related expenses and layoffs. Between late 2025 and early 2026, Amazon, the company with the most employees worldwide, with 1.5 million workers at the end of 2025, laid off 30,000 people globally, 791 of them in Spain.
Amazon Vice President Beth Galletti, on the occasion of those staff cuts, explained Amazon’s philosophy in a statement, giving an account of where the distribution giant stands. “Some may wonder why we are reducing positions when the company is achieving good results,” Galletti said in one of the final paragraphs.
“In all our business lines, we offer an excellent customer experience every day, innovate at a dizzying pace, and achieve solid business results. What we must remember is that the world is changing rapidly. AI is the most transformative technology we have seen since the internet, and it is enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever (both in existing market segments and in completely new ones). We are convinced that we need a more agile organization, with fewer hierarchical levels and more responsibility, to be able to act as quickly as possible for the benefit of our customers and our business,” she said.
Read more Colombia wins the international legal dispute to produce generics of the main drug to treat HIV
