Amazon Leaps 7% as AWS Notches Fastest Cloud Growth in Nearly Five Years

Big Tech is doing the heavy lifting as markets shake off a messy election night. Amazon is trading at $269.36, up 7% in the morning session, while Apple sits at $347.92 and Microsoft at $545.16, each climbing 5%.

The engine behind Amazon's pop is AWS, which grew 39% year over year in the third quarter. That took the cloud unit's revenue to $45.98 billion — its fastest growth in nearly five years, according to results released October 29.

The cloud strength papered over a headline miss. Amazon posted earnings per share of $1.89, short of the $1.96 analysts expected. CEO Andy Jassy leaned on the bigger picture, telling investors the backlog sits at $578 billion and is growing triple digits year over year and well-diversified.

Not everyone in the Magnificent Seven got the memo. Tesla tumbled 5% and NVIDIA slid 2%, splitting the group sharply on election day even as the broader mega-cap trade roared back. Nasdaq 100 futures were down sharply at one point overnight as U.S. midterm results rolled in before reversing, and that recovery carried straight into the open.

Fresh labor data gave the rally extra fuel. ADP reported private employers added 86,000 jobs in October, while Yahoo Finance said economists had expected 67,000 — a stronger-than-expected print that eases worries about consumer demand and matters for Amazon's retail arm. Rates helped too: the 10-year Treasury yield dropped to its lowest reading of the past month on November 2, a friendlier setup for long-duration growth names.

Bears aren't fully convinced. The VIX is sitting at 21, and Amazon's $42 billion free cash outflow gives the cautious crowd something to chew on even as the bulls point to accelerating AWS growth and resilient hiring.