TLDR
- Cathie Wood’s ARK fund bought $1.93 million in Amazon shares on January 30, positioning ahead of Q4 earnings
- Analysts project Q4 earnings of $1.97 per share with revenue reaching $211.43 billion, a 13% increase
- Amazon Web Services posts fastest growth since 2022, powered by surging AI infrastructure investments
- Wedbush sets $340 price target for Amazon, projecting 42% potential gains from current levels
- Company finished cutting 30,000 jobs to eliminate layers and boost operational efficiency
Cathie Wood placed a fresh bet on Amazon. Her ARK Fintech Innovation ETF scooped up 8,088 shares worth $1.93 million on January 30.
The timing stands out. Amazon reports fourth-quarter earnings on February 5 after market close.
Wall Street projects earnings of $1.97 per share for the quarter. That’s up from $1.86 in the same period last year. Revenue estimates sit at $211.43 billion, marking 13% growth.
The purchase shows renewed confidence in Amazon’s prospects. Wood’s track record includes both big wins and sharp losses, with her flagship ARK Innovation ETF gaining 35.49% in 2025 but posting a five-year annualized return of -11.29%.
Cloud Business Accelerates
Amazon Web Services hit its stride. CEO Andy Jassy said cloud growth reached speeds not seen since 2022.
AI spending drove the acceleration. Companies increased investments in AI tools and core infrastructure. Customers locked in cloud capacity and expanded their computing needs.
The AWS backlog expanded faster than expected. More capacity is coming online throughout 2026. Management expects demand to stay strong.
Amazon stock surged nearly 10% after October’s third-quarter report. AWS performance beat expectations and sparked the rally.
Wedbush analyst Scott Devitt kept his buy rating. His $340 price target implies about 42% upside potential. The firm highlighted strong cloud demand, a growing backlog, and capacity expansion plans.
Retail operations maintain strength. The core e-commerce business shows healthy patterns. Advertising revenue continues its upward trajectory. Wedbush calls Amazon its preferred e-commerce stock for 2026.
Major Cost Cuts Complete
Amazon wrapped up a restructuring plan on January 28. The company confirmed 16,000 more corporate job cuts, finishing a 30,000-position reduction that started in October.
The cuts hit nearly 10% of the workforce. They surpass the 27,000 jobs eliminated between late 2022 and early 2023, making this Amazon’s largest-ever workforce reduction.
Beth Galetti, leading human resources, explained the strategy. The cuts remove bureaucracy, reduce management layers, and increase employee ownership. The goal is faster decision-making and improved efficiency.
Investment in AI Grows
Wood maintains her bullish tech stance. In a mid-January letter, she dismissed AI bubble fears. She described the current environment as “the most powerful capital spending cycle in history.”
She believes multiple technologies are ready for widespread adoption. These include AI, robotics, energy storage, and blockchain platforms.
Amazon is expanding its AI footprint beyond AWS. The Wall Street Journal reported the company is negotiating an investment of up to $50 billion in OpenAI. That would make Amazon the largest investor in OpenAI’s current fundraising round.
Analyst consensus favors Amazon. TipRanks shows 34 buy ratings against just one hold rating. The average price target reaches $296.22, suggesting 23.8% upside from current trading levels.
