Amazon Ad Revenue Growth Slows in Q3, Ecommerce Giant Undershoots Earnings Estimates

Amazon saw slowed growth in its advertising revenue in the year’s third quarter, claiming its decision to host Prime Day for most larger countries in the year’s second quarter and unfavorable foreign exchange rates contributed to a softer earnings report than Wall Street analysts expected.

The past four quarters for Amazon’s advertising segment saw growth hover around 22% year-over-year before increasing to 26% in 2026’s second quarter. In Q3, the company’s ad revenue growth decelerated to 11%, a drop the company attributed to changes in foreign exchange rates and the shifting of Prime Day.

Amazon reported $201.9 billion in net sales and a diluted earnings per share of $1.89. Wall Street analysts expected the company to report $202.31 billion in revenue with an EPS of $1.96, according to an analyst consensus compiled by LSEG. Its stock was down 4% post-market close following the earnings report.

North American revenue rose 6% to $ 112.9 billion, while international revenue increased 5% to $43.1 billion. The company saw revenue in Amazon Web Services increase by 39% to $46 billion, the fastest growth for the sector in nearly five years and nearly 20 percentage points higher than its 20% growth in 2025’s third quarter.

“Our AWS investment in functionality and infrastructure is working, with over 39% year-over-year revenue growth in Q3 ($184 billion revenue run rate) and projected revenue growth rates of over 40% both in 2027 and in 2028,” said Andy Jassy, President and CEO, Amazon. “Our broader selection and speedier delivery are helping us capture more retail market segment share with improving margins, and our newer businesses, ranging from Grocery to Pharmacy to Amazon Leo to Zoox are progressing encouragingly. There has never been a trillion dollar revenue business, and we may have two of them in the next 5-10 years.”