Amazon Ad Revenue Climbs To $19.6B During Q3
Editor's Note
TheDesk.net on State of Streaming is a syndicated partnership featuring reporting by Matthew Keys — founder and editor of TheDesk.net, covering media technology, streaming platforms, and digital distribution. This report breaks down Amazon’s third-quarter financial results: advertising revenue climbing 12% to $19.6 billion, CEO Andy Jassy’s confirmation of standalone profitability for Prime Video, and AWS surging 39% to $46 billion—contrasted against an overall revenue and EPS miss tied to a $220 billion AI infrastructure capital spend that sent shares down 7% in after-hours trading.
Amazon reported strong revenue from its advertising business during the third quarter (Q3) of the year spurred by an uptick in interest across its connected TV platform, streaming app and online goods store, though the company’s overall revenue fell short of Wall Street expectations.
The e-commerce and technology company generated $201.9 billion in revenue during the three months ending September 30, an increase of 12 percent from $180.2 billion last year. Net income totaled $20.7 billion, while diluted earnings declined to $1.89 per share from $1.95 one year earlier. Analysts had expected revenue of approximately $202.3 billion and earnings of $1.97 per share, and Wall Street sent Amazon’s stock price down more than 7 percent in after-hours trading.
Amazon’s advertising business generated $19.6 billion in revenue, an increase of 12 percent from the prior year when excluding currency fluctuations. The growth rate was slower than in previous quarters, when advertising revenue had regularly increased by more than 20 percent.
(Snapshot of Amazon stock at time of publishing)
Executives attributed some of the slowdown to the timing of Amazon’s Prime Day shopping event, which took place during the second quarter this year rather than the third quarter as it did in 2025. The company expects advertising revenue growth to return to the high teens during the fourth quarter.
Advertising has become an increasingly important part of Amazon’s business, particularly as the company expands its commercial offerings across Prime Video, where advertisements were introduced as the default experience for subscribers in 2024.
During a conference call with investors, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said Prime Video had become profitable on its own, with annualized revenue in the tens of billions of dollars. The company has continued investing in original programming and live sports rights as it develops the streaming service’s advertising business.
(Infographic by Matthew Keys for The Desk and State of Streaming)
Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company’s cloud computing division, generated approximately $46 billion in third-quarter revenue, an increase of 39 percent compared to last year. The result exceeded analyst estimates of $45.7 billion.
Jassy said AWS could sustain annual revenue growth above 40 percent in 2027 and 2028, supported by additional computing capacity and demand for artificial intelligence services.
The company has committed substantial resources to expanding its data center infrastructure, with planned capital expenditures of approximately $220 billion this year. That spending has drawn scrutiny from investors concerned about when the investments will produce sufficient financial returns.
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Amazon Q3 2026 Earnings Release:
Amazon Q3 2026 Investor Presentation:
https://s2.q4cdn.com/299287126/files/doc_earnings/2026/q3/presentation/Webslides_Q326.pdf
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