NEW YORK, February 17, 2026, 06:53 EST — Premarket
- AMZN slipped about 0.1% in premarket trade, after ending Friday at $198.79 and posting nine straight down sessions into the close.
- Investors remain focused on Amazon’s planned $200 billion capital spending push tied to AI and cloud infrastructure.
- U.S. index futures edged lower after the long weekend, with traders eyeing Friday’s PCE inflation data.
Amazon.com, Inc. shares were down 0.1% at $198.60 in premarket trading on Tuesday, after closing Friday at $198.79. The stock has fallen in each of the past nine sessions and is down about 18% from its Feb. 2 close. (StockAnalysis)
The drift matters now because investors have turned sour on Big Tech’s rising bills for artificial intelligence, and Amazon is a heavy weight in major indexes. Amazon has shed about 13.85% so far this year, erasing roughly $343 billion in market value and leaving it valued near $2.13 trillion, according to Reuters calculations. (Reuters)
U.S. stock index futures pointed lower after the long weekend as worries about AI-driven disruption unsettled investors. At 05:46 a.m. ET, Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.77%, and traders also looked to Friday’s Supreme Court opinion day, when a ruling on President Donald Trump’s tariffs could be announced. Jefferies economist Mohit Kumar called it a rotation trade rather than a “risk-off,” and markets awaited comments from Fed Governor Michael Barr and San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly. (Reuters)
Amazon said on Feb. 5 it expects to invest about $200 billion in capital expenditures, or capex — spending on items such as data centers, servers and chips — in 2026, largely tied to AI and cloud infrastructure. It guided for first-quarter operating income of $16.5 billion to $21.5 billion and said AWS revenue grew 24% to $35.6 billion in the December quarter. Chief Executive Andy Jassy said the outlays should deliver a “strong long-term return on invested capital,” even as free cash flow — cash left after capital spending — fell to $11.2 billion over the past 12 months. (SEC)
Wall Street still hasn’t forgiven the scale of the spending plan, which would be more than 50% above the $131 billion Amazon spent in 2025, and the stock slid 11.5% after hours when the forecast hit earlier this month. AWS generates more than 60% of Amazon’s operating profit, and the price action has turned into a referendum on how quickly cloud demand will soak up new capacity. D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria said “Amazon has to invest at these levels just to stay in the race” as it fights Microsoft and Alphabet in cloud. (Reuters)
Some analysts have compared the AI buildout to the dot-com era, when companies paid up for infrastructure before revenues caught up. MoffettNathanson said “the magnitude of the spend is materially greater than consensus expected,” and AJ Bell’s Russ Mould said the market is moving away from names where it is “easier to disappoint.” He said hyperscalers — the largest cloud firms — are shifting from asset-light models to heavier spending. (Reuters)
Amazon’s stock has moved with the broader tech tape in early indications, and investors have been quick to fade rallies. The backdrop is still a tug-of-war: AI demand looks real, but the checks going out the door are getting bigger.
The near-term focus shifts to rates and inflation. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index — the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge — is due on Feb. 20, and any surprise there can hit growth stocks fast. (Bureau of Economic Analysis)
But the downside case is plain enough. If corporate customers delay AI projects, or if cloud growth slows while spending stays elevated, cash generation can come under pressure for longer than investors expect.
For AMZN traders, the next test is Friday’s Feb. 20 PCE report and what it does to rate-cut bets, with futures already pointing to a cautious open. Beyond that, the stock will live and die on whether AWS demand and margins start to justify the pace of the $200 billion buildout.
