New York, March 4, 2026, 10:26 (EST) — Regular session
Amazon.com (AMZN.O) climbed 2.9% to $214.72 during Wednesday morning trade, gaining $5.99 over its previous close. The stock swung between $206.99 and $215.66.
Investors are weighing which of the big tech players will actually convert the artificial-intelligence push into lasting profits—and which are just signing on for years of steep expenses. The bounce comes as that calculus takes shape.
Amazon finds itself at the center of this debate. Its cloud arm, Amazon Web Services, ranks among the top buyers of chips, servers, and the real estate needed for AI workloads. As AWS expands, the conversation pivots—less about demand now, more about power requirements and mounting costs.
Amazon on Monday announced plans to pour another 18 billion euros ($21 billion) into Spain, targeting data center expansion and accelerating AI innovation. That pushes Amazon’s total planned investment in the country to 33.7 billion euros. Previously, AWS had put 15.7 billion euros on the table for facilities in Aragon. According to executive David Zapolsky, the broader initiative could back as many as 30,000 jobs through 2035. “With this investment, we make Spain the AI epicentre of our operations in Europe,” Zapolsky told attendees at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. 1
Amazon Data Services is set to acquire George Washington University’s Virginia Science and Technology campus in Ashburn for $427 million, with the deal falling under Amazon’s wider Virginia investment plans—potentially up to $35 billion by 2040. According to the school’s student newspaper, the deed gives Amazon the green light for a data or IT center on the property, though the company hasn’t responded to questions. Tech companies globally have already committed over $630 billion this year on AI software, chips, and infrastructure, triggering bubble concerns among some investors. 2
President Donald Trump plans to sit down with tech industry leaders on Wednesday, with a White House official confirming that Amazon is expected to sign a “Ratepayer Protection Pledge” alongside Google, Microsoft, Meta, Oracle, xAI and OpenAI. Energy Secretary Chris Wright described the move as a way to provide “more affordable, reliable, and secure energy” as the data center sector booms. “The real problem is the inability to get generation online fast enough to meet the data center demand,” said Jon Gordon, director at Advanced Energy United. 3
Amazon’s spending plans have rattled investors before. Just last month, the company forecast capital expenditures would jump to roughly $200 billion in 2026—well above the $131 billion set for 2025. The stock tumbled 11.5% in after-hours trading following the announcement. 4
Broader markets gave a lift. Wall Street kicked off the session in positive territory after headlines suggested Iranian operatives approached the U.S. about talks aimed at resolving the conflict. Trump’s comments around oil markets added to the positive tone. The Nasdaq started the day 0.46% higher. 5
Economic figures remained a factor. U.S. private payrolls gained 63,000 in February, according to ADP on Wednesday, just ahead of the government’s employment update set for Friday. The consensus among economists points to a 59,000 increase in nonfarm payrolls, with the unemployment rate expected to stay put at 4.3%. That’s a scenario likely to keep the Federal Reserve wary about easing rates. 6
The U.S. services sector—accounting for over two-thirds of the economy—snapped off its strongest growth since late 2020, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s February report. Economists, though, warn the ongoing Middle East conflict could threaten energy prices and stoke inflation. 7
Even so, Amazon finds itself right between two unpredictable forces: the pace of AI demand, and the cost of fueling and funding the hardware that runs it. Any holdup in securing electricity for new sites—or a move higher in yields—can hit tech stocks, regardless of whether revenue remains steady.
All eyes turn to the White House meeting set for later Wednesday, with traders also bracing for Friday’s U.S. jobs numbers, dropping at 8:30 a.m. ET. Amazon’s focus shifts to its data-center expansion—investors watching to see if costs stay contained this time. 8
