Amazon loses 450 billion dollars in nine days after AI investment announcement
Amazon experienced a historic losing streak on the stock market this month, reports t3n. The e-commerce giant’s stock fell for nine consecutive trading days, wiping out 450 billion dollars in market value. The trigger was the announcement to invest around 200 billion US dollars in AI projects, chips, robotics, and satellites in 2026. This sum is making investors nervous.
Amazon shares experienced losing streak
On February 5, 2026, Amazon presented its Q4 figures and simultaneously announced the massive investment plans. The investments totaling 200 billion dollars represent a 60 percent increase compared to the previous year. Moreover, they exceeded Wall Street expectations by over 50 billion dollars. Combined with revenue and profit growth that came in slightly weaker than expected, the market reacted promptly: Amazon’s stock plummeted eight percent (we reported).
But that was just the beginning. In total, Amazon shares recorded losses on the Nasdaq for nine consecutive days. This was the longest losing streak since 2006. The price decline amounted to 18.2 percent, with market capitalization currently standing at 2.1 trillion dollars.
Investors concerned about spending
What is unsettling investors is the high capital requirement, which could strain the company’s liquidity. In the worst case, Amazon would have to take on new debt. Additionally, the expensive chips and servers could lose value faster than expected, which could lead to high write-downs in the coming years.
Accordingly, it remains questionable when the billion-dollar spending will pay off. The concerns are not unfounded, but a look at the past also shows profit potential.
Last crash series due to today’s cash cow AWS
Amazon experienced the last comparable losing streak in 2006. The reason was also high spending, which at that time went into expanding the cloud division Amazon Web Services (AWS). Today, AWS is considered a cash cow within the company. In 2025, the cloud division’s revenue climbed 20 percent to nearly 129 billion dollars. History could repeat itself if the AI investments pay off similarly.
Amazon is not alone with its AI bet. The spending on AI infrastructure planned for 2026 by Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon adds up to around 700 billion dollars. On February 17, 2026, Amazon’s losing streak ended with a price gain of around one percent. Previously, Microsoft and Alphabet also had to endure multi-day losing streaks.
