Amazon Q3 earnings updates: Analysts expect answers on AI progress and AWS as AMZN lags other Mag 7 stocks (www.businessinsider.com)

Amazon heads into its Q3 earnings call (5 p.m. ET) under scrutiny as the laggard of the “Magnificent Seven,” with investors pressing for clarity on its AI strategy and how it will compete with Microsoft and Alphabet. Beyond headline AI ambitions, analysts will focus on AWS performance, retail and fulfillment margins, third‑party seller trends, and any lingering tariff effects that could pressure costs and margins. Market expectations set the bar at $177.8 billion in revenue and $1.58 EPS, so management’s commentary on product roadmaps and capital allocation will be watched for signs of renewed momentum. Key expected figures that matter to the AI/ML community and investors: AWS net sales are estimated at $32.39B (ex‑FX growth +17.9%), subscription services +10.7%, and third‑party seller services +10.8%, with an operating income estimate of $19.72B and operating margin ~11.1%. Fulfillment expense is modeled near $27.5B and seller unit mix about 60.7%. Q4 revenue is forecast at ~$208.5B, with Q4 capex ~$32.3B and full‑year capex ~$118.8B — a level that signals continued heavy investment in data centers and AI compute. In short, investors will parse both topline/cloud growth and the scale of capital spending as proxies for Amazon’s ability to fund AI infrastructure and defend its platform position.