This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN, Financials) shares slid sharply after the company said it will pour about $200 billion into new projects next year a staggering figure that caught Wall Street off guard.
The Seattle giant’s strategy, which focuses on AI, cloud growth, robots, and satellite internet, shows its long-term goals but also raised concerns about spending too much. Andy Jassy, the CEO, predicted that the investments will fuel growth for decades, but investors were cautious.
Amazon’s fourth-quarter sales were $213.4 billion, which is about 14% more than the same time last year and more than what analysts had expected. Earnings per share were $1.95, which was just short of what was expected. Its AWS cloud sector was a bright light, gaining 24% to $35.6 billion.
But the huge expenditure plan nevertheless made those advantages less important. Investors were already on edge following Alphabet Inc.’s big-budget prediction. Amazon’s outlook made them feel that Big Tech could be going too far, too quickly with AI.
