Amazon’s Trillion-Dollar Capex Gamble vs Shopify’s Lean Profitability Strategy
The article contrasts Amazon and Shopify's Q1 2026 results, highlighting their divergent strategies. Amazon reported $181.5B revenue (+16.6%) with AWS cloud revenue surging 28% to $37.6B, the fastest pace in 15 quarters. Amazon spent $44.2B on capex (up 76.7%), betting heavily on AI infrastructure and custom chips (Trainium, Graviton). Shopify reported $3.17B revenue (+34.3%), with GMV crossing $100B for the first time. Shopify spent only $5M on capex, generating $476M in free cash flow and launching a $2B buyback program. Amazon's P/E of 31 makes it a cheaper AI infrastructure bet, while Shopify's P/E of 121 reflects higher growth expectations. Key risks include Amazon's capex payback timeline and Shopify's exposure to SMB merchant health and loan losses.
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