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TWAS THE WEEK BEFORE EARNINGS WHEN ALL THROUGH THE FACTORY WAS…A HIVE OF ACTIVITY
Always a quiet week for Amazon before this week’s Q2 earnings call where analysts are going to have extremely laser-like attention on retail, AWS and advertising performance. Amazon is unlikely to be sweating based on projections.
Everyone’s favourite cardboard abuser pulled plans for a major new data centre in Ireland, citing grid capacity issues that point to growing infrastructure constraints in the region, as the company scrapped plans for the project due to energy concerns. Over €2 billion in used goods were sold in Europe last year through Amazon’s marketplace, showing how central resale has become to the platform’s European strategy.
A new fee explainer tool was rolled out within transaction details to help sellers better understand cost structures. Consumer pricing came into focus after reports of increased costs across household essentials. Legal pressures were big news this week with two lawsuits filed in the UK accusing Amazon of abusing market dominance, with claims totalling up to £5.4 billion. In India, Amazon and Walmart are among e-commerce firms facing renewed scrutiny over foreign marketplace operations, as regulators review existing frameworks. Finally, the class action was certified in the UK, challenging Amazon’s marketplace favouritism toward its own products. One thing remains true, Amazon’s lawyers earn their money and have the most job security in the place. Amidst reports of Bezos visits to the White House, political risk also flared with a report revealing that Trump allies discussed targeting Amazon and Jeff Bezos if re-elected.
AWS announced 47 new updates this week. Investments in AI and deep tech continued including Amazon backing a Cambridge startup using 3D imaging to tackle return fraud, as did a programmable optics company working on next-gen machine vision. AWS partnered with Meta (yes, you read that right) to accelerate foundation model development and secured a five-year deal with NatWest and Accenture to transform the bank’s AI and data infrastructure. Cha-ching.
A new salary report leaked revealing aggressive compensation packages for engineers and AI specialists, but nothing like what Zuck is throwing around for nerd smarts. Security risks surfaced when a hacker inserted computer-wiping commands into Amazon’s AI coding agent during what appeared to be internal testing. Yoikes.
Amazon announced a Kindle aimed at children launched with colour display and larger storage. Jassy and co also spent some cash on a pretty unknown AI wearable company called Bee so the company again has a finger in the ambient health tech pie after several failed attempts.
SO WHAT?
Plenty moving across infrastructure, regulation, AI and geopolitics which would rock others companies, but it’s one of the quietest weeks at Amazon in months. Increasingly it’s becoming clear (for regulators, competitors and customers) isn’t if Amazon is too big, but what happens when its size meets its ambition.
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