US Stock Market Move | Disappointing Q2 Cloud Business Growth and Weak Guidance Lead to Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US) Falling Over 7%

On Friday, Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US) opened with a drop of over 7%, causing its market value to evaporate by $178 billion, closing at $217.66 per share. On the news front, the company's operating profit guidance for the third quarter was lower than expected, and its cloud business growth lagged behind competitors. Investors are now exploring whether the company's huge investment in artificial intelligence has paid off. Data shows that in the second quarter, Amazon.com, Inc. total revenue increased by 13% to $167.7 billion, far exceeding the market average expectation of $162.1 billion. Earnings per share were $1.68, surpassing the market average expectation of $1.33. Of note, Amazon.com, Inc.'s cloud computing service provider, Amazon Web Services (AWS), saw revenue growth slightly above 17% to $30.9 billion, just slightly higher than analysts' average expectation of $30.8 billion. Looking ahead, Amazon.com, Inc. stated in a release that the operating profit for the third quarter ending in September is projected to be between $15.5 billion to $20.5 billion, while analysts' average expectation is $19.4 billion. Sales during the same period are expected to be between $174 billion and $179.5 billion, higher than the analysts' average expectation of $173.2 billion. Analyst Gil Luria of DA Davidson pointed out that considering the higher growth rates reported by Microsoft Corporation and Alphabet Inc. Class C, the revenue growth of Amazon.com, Inc.'s AWS is "very disappointing." In the three months ending in June, Microsoft Corporation's Azure revenue grew by 39% and Alphabet Inc. Class C's cloud revenue increased by 32%.