New York, March 4, 2026, 16:28 (EST) — After-hours
- Amazon shares were last up 3.9% at $216.77 after the close.
- A $427 million Ashburn, Virginia campus purchase adds space for new data-center capacity.
- Investors now look to Friday’s U.S. jobs report for the next big test for tech valuations.
Amazon.com Inc’s stock (AMZN) was last up 3.9% at $216.77 in after-hours trading on Wednesday, after a late push that left it near the day’s highs. The shares ranged from $206.99 to $217.51 in the session, with about 54 million shares changing hands.
The buying comes as investors keep circling back to one question: how fast Amazon can add the plumbing for artificial intelligence without spooking the market on costs. Amazon Data Services is acquiring George Washington University’s Virginia Science and Technology campus in Ashburn for $427 million, a deal the campus newspaper said would allow a data or information technology center on the site. GWU said the sale was “part of a broader strategy to strengthen GW’s long-term financial health and to invest more deeply in our academic mission and community.” 1
It also helped that the tape felt calmer. U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as investors leaned back into tech after oil fears eased on signs of possible Iran talks and a White House push to steady energy markets. “That combination is giving the market some optimism, which will be tested over coming weeks,” said Jim Awad, senior managing director at Clearstead Advisors. 2
On the company side, Amazon has been trying to show it can still grow in retail while building out its cloud. It launched its Amazon Now service in Brazil this week, promising 15-minute delivery of groceries and essentials in Sao Paulo and planning to expand to seven other cities by March 9. “Brazil has become a priority among the countries in which Amazon invests in the world,” country head Juliana Sztrajtman told journalists. 3
Not all the headlines have been clean. AWS said earlier this week its facilities in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were impacted by drone strikes amid the Middle East conflict. 4
Still, the downside case hangs over the name: the price of the AI buildout. Amazon projected about $200 billion in 2026 capital expenditures — cash spent on projects such as data centers and equipment — up from $131 billion in 2025, and investors punished the stock when that forecast hit. 5
Even in Northern Virginia, where data centers are a core industry, building more can get messy. A Loudoun County supervisor told The Washington Post the Ashburn parcel would need a special exception under a 2023 zoning change and said the area is power-constrained, adding a local wrinkle to a national rush for electricity and land. 6
AWS is still fighting a two-front race: keep its lead in cloud while matching rivals’ spending for generative AI. Microsoft’s Azure and Google Cloud are the obvious benchmarks, and every new data hall is both a growth bet and a cash drain.
What traders are watching next is simple and fast-moving. The U.S. Employment Situation report for February is due at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday, a data point that can swing rate expectations and, by extension, demand for high-valuation tech stocks such as Amazon. 7
