Amazon's Free Cash Flow Went Negative by $7.6 Billion Even as Operating Cash Flow Rose 33%. Here's the Gap AI Capex Is Actually Creating.
Amazon is spending huge sums of money on AI, and that money has to come form someplace.
Overview
The earnings statement is where most investors go first when assessing a company's financial results. On that score, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) looks like it had a breakout quarter in the second quarter of 2026, with earnings of $5.75 per diluted share, up from $1.68 in the same quarter of 2025. But there's a winkle here, and the story gets even more complicated when you step back and examine the cash flow statement.
Earnings are created by complying with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). They are, even at the best of times, just a hazy snapshot of a company's performance. That's highlighted by Amazon's $5.75 second-quarter earnings figure, which includes $69 billion in "other" income. That isn't likely to be repeated, as it is related to the company's investment in Anthropic. And if Anthropic's value declines, that benefit could actually reverse.
Image source: Getty Images.
Details
Source
Originally published at www.fool.com.