Amazon online sales grow just 2% as AWS carries profit
Companywide sales climbed 12% to $201.9 billion, but Amazon's retail segment barely moved while AWS drove the profit.
Amazon's online sales rose 2% in the third quarter compared with the same period in 2025, reaching $68.5 million, Publishers Weekly reported. The outlet noted some of the small increase was due to Prime Day moving to the second quarter rather than the third, and that some analysts wondered whether the minor gain signaled consumers pulling back on spending.
Online sales remained Amazon's largest business segment in the quarter, though AWS remained by far its most profitable, accounting for $17.8 million of the company's $28.2 million in operating profit, according to the report. Companywide, sales increased 12% to $201.9 billion. CEO Andy Jassy, in prepared remarks cited by the outlet, praised AWS's performance and said "our broader selection and speedier delivery are helping us capture more retail market segment share." Amazon is expecting total fourth-quarter sales to increase by 12% to 16%, the report said.
A 2% bump isn't nothing, but it isn't much either, and the Prime Day calendar shuffle makes even that number soft. The real story for anyone selling through Amazon's retail channel: the company's growth engine right now is AWS, not the shelves your book sits on. Keep an eye on how Amazon talks about retail market share in the next quarter's numbers before reading too much into Jassy's "broader selection and speedier delivery" line.
From the Coral Wire edition of Sun, Nov 1 2026 · Coral Index 31/100 (Storm warning)