Amazon has burned $42.4B of free cash over 12 months to fund AI
Amazon posted a record operating margin in Q3, yet its trailing free cash flow turned deeply negative. The gap comes down to $215.2 billion of equipment spending.
Amazon's third-quarter numbers looked strong on the surface. Net sales rose 12% to $201.9 billion, according to the earnings release Amazon published on Oct 29, 2026. Operating income hit $28.1 billion, which the company says is its highest operating margin ever, at 13.9%. Amazon Web Services grew 39% to $46.0 billion.
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