Amazon Strong Results Point Toward Boost for Cloud Business

Amazon.com Inc. Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy gave investors much of what they wanted this earnings season: robust sales and profit growth along with a hint that the cloud division earnings machine is regaining momentum.

While third-quarter revenue at Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing unit, fell just short of projections, Jassy said the business is stabilizing. The company signed several new deals with customers that took effect this month, and demand for generative artificial intelligence is likely to boost the division well into the future, he said Thursday on a conference call after the results were released. The shares gained sharply after his comments and were up about 6% as the markets opened on Friday. The stock has gained almost 50% this year.