$AMZN · AMAZON COM INC
Amazon filed its Q3 2026 10-Q, reporting net sales of $201.944B (+12.1% YoY) with operating income of $28.076B (13.9% margin). Diluted EPS fell to $1.89 from $1.95 a year ago despite revenue growth, as capex exploded to $77.259B in the quarter alone. Total long-term debt face value surged to $180.887B from $68.836B at year-end 2025, driven by $37B, €14.5B, $25B, C$14B, £4.3B, and CHF 2.8B in new note issuances during 2026.
- Q3 revenue $201.944B (+12.1% YoY), operating income $28.076B (13.9% margin), net income $20.685B
- Diluted EPS $1.89 vs $1.95 a year ago — net income declined 2.4% YoY despite 12% revenue growth
- Q3 capex hit $77.259B, nearly double the $35.095B in Q3 2025; nine-month capex $175.67B
- Total long-term debt face value ballooned from $68.8B at year-end 2025 to $180.9B at September 30, 2026
- Other income swung from +$10.186B in Q3 2025 to -$703M in Q3 2026, driven by equity valuation losses and absence of large private-company upward adjustments
Extended-hours trading shows shares at $226.50, down 7.09% from the $243.79 regular close. The market is punishing the EPS miss, the capex explosion, and the massive debt load — Amazon added over $112B in long-term debt face value in nine months while capex is running at a $300B+ annualized pace.
Amazon is borrowing at historic scale — $112B in new debt in nine months — to fund a capex cycle that is already compressing earnings despite double-digit revenue growth.
Amazon's capex trajectory now dwarfs all hyperscaler peers — $175.7B in nine months exceeds what most competitors spend in years. The debt-fueled infrastructure build raises questions about AI ROI timelines across the entire cloud sector.
Capex at $77.3B/quarter is unsustainable without corresponding margin expansion; interest expense tripled YoY to $1.691B as debt surged to $180.9B. The $68.359B nine-month "Other income" boost from private-company upward adjustments is non-recurring and masks operating deleverage.