Amazon reported another quarter of strong advertising growth, with ad revenue reaching $19.8 billion in the second quarter of 2026, a 24% year-over-year increase, as the company continued to expand its position in the digital advertising market alongside gains in cloud computing and AI.
Advertising remained one of Amazon’s fastest-growing businesses during the quarter, outpacing the company’s overall revenue growth. Total net sales increased 13% year over year to $174.4 billion, while net income rose to $21.4 billion, up from $16.5 billion in the same period last year.
The company attributed part of its advertising momentum to continued investment in AI-powered ad products and measurement capabilities. During the earnings call, CEO Andy Jassy said Amazon is seeing stronger advertiser demand as generative AI improves campaign performance and simplifies ad creation and optimization across its platforms.
Amazon has also continued expanding its advertising inventory beyond its retail marketplace. The company highlighted growing opportunities across Prime Video, Twitch, live sports, and its broader streaming ecosystem, giving brands additional ways to reach consumers through video and connected TV advertising.
Prime Video advertising has become an increasingly important contributor following the introduction of ads to the streaming service. Amazon said advertisers are using the platform to run full-funnel campaigns that combine streaming inventory with retail media and shopping insights, allowing brands to measure outcomes beyond impressions.
Artificial intelligence remained a recurring theme throughout the earnings report. Amazon pointed to continued investment in Amazon Web Services (AWS) and its partnership with Anthropic, saying demand for AI infrastructure and foundation models continues to accelerate. The company is expanding data center capacity and developing custom AI chips to support growing enterprise adoption.
While AWS generated $34.6 billion in quarterly revenue, up 18% year over year, executives noted that infrastructure demand continues to exceed available capacity in some areas due to the rapid pace of AI adoption.
Looking ahead, Amazon said it expects third-quarter net sales to range between $181.5 billion and $186.5 billion, representing year-over-year growth of 10% to 13%. The company forecast operating income between $20 billion and $26 billion for the quarter.
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