Andy Wang, Managing Partner at Runnymede Capital Management, joined Schwab Network’s Market on Close with hosts Sam Vadas at the New York Stock Exchange and Marley Kayden in Chicago to discuss Amazon’s third-quarter earnings report, one of the most closely watched results of the tech earnings season.

Amazon delivered precisely what investors were hoping to see:

  • A beat on both the top and bottom line.

  • Amazon Web Services (AWS) revenue up 20% to $33 billion, ahead of expectations for 18% growth and marking the fastest pace in nearly two years.

  • Operating income up 9%, with AWS contributing roughly two-thirds of total profit.

The strong results sent Amazon shares up more than 8% after hours. On air, Wang called it a “credibility win” for the company. While Amazon did not match the 40% growth from Microsoft Azure or the 34% reported by Google Cloud, this quarter demonstrated that the company remains firmly in the AI infrastructure race.

Wang noted that Project Rainier, Amazon’s new $11 billion AI data center, opened just a day before the report. The facility will train and host AI models, including Anthropic’s Claude, using one million of Amazon’s custom Trainium2 chips by the end of next year. He added that the company’s heavy investments in AI infrastructure are now translating into tangible business momentum and improved confidence heading into 2026.

Beyond the cloud segment, Wang pointed to two other bright spots in the report:

  • Retail efficiency: North America sales were steady, but Amazon achieved roughly 150 basis points of year-over-year margin improvement, driven by automation and more efficient regional logistics.

  • Advertising growth: Amazon’s ad business expanded about 20% year over year, a high-margin segment that continues to help fund the company’s AI and automation investments. As Wang told Market on Close, “It’s like Google Search, but inside your shopping cart, and those ad dollars go straight to the bottom line.”

Wang emphasized that Amazon did not need to surpass its cloud rivals this quarter. It simply needed to prove that its massive AI investments were producing results. “This quarter delivered that proof,” he said. “Amazon showed it is not only relevant in the AI arms race, it is positioned to power it.”

The discussion concluded with Wang highlighting Amazon’s three core growth levers: cloud for scale, advertising for profit, and automation for efficiency, a combination that positions the company for sustainable growth even if broader economic conditions remain uneven.

Amazon’s stock reaction and management tone, Wang said, both underscore the same message: the AI era has officially arrived at Amazon, and it is beginning to show up in the numbers.