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Amazon Expands Bulk Storage Service Across Europe

Amazon is expanding its Amazon Warehousing & Distribution (AWD) service to Europe, giving sellers a new way to store inventory in bulk and replenish Amazon Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) centres based on demand.

The service will launch across Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom from 20 August 2026. The move expands Amazon’s logistics offering and gives sellers an alternative to sending all inventory directly to FBA fulfilment centres.

Bulk storage and automated replenishment

Under AWD, sellers can hold larger quantities of inventory in Amazon’s distribution network for extended periods. Instead of maintaining all stock at FBA fulfilment centres, inventory can be stored upstream and replenished automatically as demand requires.

This model is designed to help sellers manage inventory more efficiently, particularly when dealing with seasonal demand, changing sales volumes or limitations on FBA storage capacity.

Amazon says AWD provides flat-rate, long-term bulk storage and automated replenishment to FBA fulfilment centres across Europe.

The expansion could be particularly relevant for brands operating across multiple European marketplaces. By consolidating inventory within Amazon’s logistics network, sellers can reduce the need to continuously move smaller shipments into individual fulfilment centres.

Strengthening Amazon’s European logistics network

The launch represents another step in Amazon’s broader expansion beyond traditional marketplace and fulfilment services. The company has increasingly opened its logistics infrastructure to businesses, allowing merchants to use parts of the network for storage, transportation and delivery.

Earlier this year, Amazon introduced Amazon Supply Chain Services, making its logistics capabilities available to businesses beyond sellers operating exclusively on its marketplace.

AWD adds another layer to this strategy by positioning Amazon’s distribution network as a larger-scale inventory management solution.

For European sellers, the service could simplify supply chain planning by creating a bulk-storage layer between suppliers and FBA fulfilment centres. Inventory can remain in storage until Amazon’s systems determine that additional stock is required at fulfilment locations.

Implications for European sellers

The European rollout comes as e-commerce businesses continue to look for ways to balance inventory availability with storage and fulfilment costs.

For sellers with predictable demand and significant inventory volumes, bulk storage could provide greater flexibility than relying solely on FBA storage. It may also help businesses prepare inventory ahead of peak shopping periods while avoiding the need to move the entire stock volume into fulfilment centres at once.

However, the effectiveness of AWD will depend on individual sellers’ inventory profiles, product demand and logistics requirements.

With Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the UK included in the initial European rollout, Amazon is establishing AWD across some of the continent’s largest e-commerce markets.

The expansion further integrates storage, fulfilment and replenishment within Amazon’s ecosystem, potentially giving sellers a more streamlined approach to managing inventory across European markets.

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Amazon Plans Major Texas Data Center Campus to Power AI Growth

Amazon is planning a major new data center campus in Pecos County, Texas, as the technology giant expands infrastructure to support growing demand for artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

According to Amazon, the planned campus will initially be powered by new on-site generation rather than relying entirely on the Texas electricity grid. The company says the facility is designed to transition to grid-connected service as interconnection timelines allow, while it also explores solar energy and battery storage opportunities on site.

New Infrastructure for Growing AI Demand

The project highlights one of the biggest challenges facing the technology sector: securing enough electricity to support increasingly energy-intensive AI workloads.

Amazon says the Pecos County campus represents a long-term investment and is expected to create thousands of new jobs in the region. The company is also positioning the project around resource efficiency, particularly in an area where water availability is an important consideration.

To reduce pressure on local water resources, Amazon says it plans to use water that is not suitable for drinking or irrigation. The company will also deploy custom cooling technology designed to minimize water consumption and explore the use of produced water as another non-potable source.

Energy Challenges Raise Questions

The project is also attracting scrutiny over its energy strategy. Recent reports indicate that the planned on-site natural-gas generation could reach 7.65 gigawatts, with the facility potentially becoming one of the largest sources of carbon emissions in the U.S. if operated at its permitted capacity.

This creates a broader tension for the technology industry: companies are racing to build AI infrastructure while simultaneously facing increasing pressure to reduce emissions, water consumption and their impact on local energy systems.

Amazon maintains that the Pecos County campus will pay the full costs of powering its operations and says its approach is designed not to increase electricity costs for Texas households.

The development reflects a wider shift in the data center industry, where access to reliable power is increasingly becoming as important as access to land and connectivity. As AI adoption accelerates, the ability to secure large-scale energy supplies could become a defining factor in where the next generation of digital infrastructure is built.

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Bombay High Court Orders Amazon to Hand Over Expired Goods for Disposal

The Bombay High Court has directed Amazon Retail India to hand over all expired and perished goods stored at its Bhiwandi warehouse to the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for scientific disposal.

The order comes amid an ongoing dispute between Amazon and the Maharashtra FDA over the suspension of the warehouse’s licence.

Court Orders Scientific Disposal

A bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad directed Amazon to prepare an inventory of all expired and perished products at the Bhiwandi facility and transfer them to the concerned FDA officer.

The FDA will oversee the disposal process in accordance with applicable regulations, while Amazon will bear the associated costs.

The court has also directed the Maharashtra FDA to file its response to Amazon’s plea challenging the suspension of its warehouse licence by August 27.

Dispute Over Warehouse Operations

The case follows regulatory action against Amazon’s Bhiwandi facility in Maharashtra after the FDA alleged that expired food products had entered the retail market instead of being properly destroyed.

The High Court had previously criticised the FDA for what it described as an excessive approach toward the warehouse, urging the authority to implement enforcement measures in a more systematic manner.

The latest directive provides a temporary arrangement for handling the expired inventory while the broader legal dispute over Amazon’s warehouse licence continues.

Implications for E-Commerce Fulfilment

The case highlights the growing importance of inventory control, product traceability and regulatory compliance in e-commerce fulfilment operations, particularly for food and other perishable products.

As online retailers continue to expand their fulfilment networks, ensuring that expired or damaged inventory is identified, segregated and disposed of in accordance with local regulations remains a critical operational and consumer-safety responsibility.

The Bombay High Court’s decision puts the immediate focus on the safe disposal of Amazon’s expired inventory while the court considers the company’s challenge to the regulatory action.

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Amazon Signs $410 Million Compute Agreement with Recursive Superintelligence

Artificial intelligence startup Recursive Superintelligence has signed a multi-year compute capacity agreement worth $410 million with Amazon Web Services (AWS). The company, which emerged from stealth mode in May 2026 with $650 million in funding, will scale its open-ended and self-improving artificial intelligence systems on AWS infrastructure. It was reported that the company plans to introduce its first tangible products before the end of the year.

Recursive Superintelligence Allocates a Large Portion of Its Budget to Compute

The $410 million agreement represents a significant portion of the funding the startup has raised to date. Recursive Superintelligence Founder and CEO Richard Socher said that this would probably be one of the smallest compute agreements to be signed over the next few years. The company is directing a large portion of the resources that would traditionally be allocated to personnel and operations directly toward computing capacity.

Socher described the company’s approach as focusing “more on the number of agents than the number of employees.” It was stated that AWS did not invest in the company as part of the agreement and that the collaboration was built directly around cloud and compute services. Jason Bennett, AWS Vice President of Startups and Venture Capital, stated that the parties would jointly develop infrastructure tailored to the needs of artificial intelligence companies of this kind.

First Usable Artificial Intelligence Products Could Arrive in October

Socher stated that they aim for artificial intelligence to advance research and product development processes without human intervention. The first tangible and usable products are planned to be made available to users within a few months, around October. While the use cases of the products have not yet been disclosed, no details have been shared regarding a separate solution for the e-commerce and retail sectors.

The Company’s Valuation Reached $4.65 Billion

It was reported that Recursive Superintelligence reached a valuation of $4.65 billion following its $650 million funding round. The company’s automated artificial intelligence research system produced results that surpassed years of human optimization. AWS will provide flexibility, security, and dedicated compute infrastructure to run autonomous research loops in parallel and at scale. Details regarding the processors, accelerators, and other technical resources to be used in the agreement were not disclosed.

Recursive Superintelligence states that it began its work by creating “artificial intelligence that improves artificial intelligence” and aims to generate continuous innovation through open-ended algorithms. Socher previously served as Chief Scientist at Salesforce and also founded You.com and AIX Ventures.

AWS Launches $1 Billion AI Engineering Unit to Accelerate Enterprise Adoption

Amazon Announces Second-Quarter Results: Revenue Reaches $200.6 Billion

Amazon announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026. The e-commerce and technology company’s net sales increased 20% year over year, rising from $167.7 billion to $200.6 billion. Strong growth at Amazon Web Services, artificial intelligence investments, accelerated delivery operations, and higher advertising revenue stood out in the results.

Amazon Exceeds Revenue and Profit Expectations

According to results published by AlphaStreet, Amazon’s second-quarter net sales reached $200.6 billion, while diluted earnings per share rose from $1.68 to $5.75. The company’s operating income also increased from $19.2 billion in the same period last year to $27.5 billion. Amazon expects third-quarter net sales to be between $197 billion and $202 billion.

Amazon’s net income increased from $18.2 billion to $62.6 billion in the second quarter. The reported net income included $53.4 billion in pre-tax non-operating income, primarily related to Amazon’s investment in Anthropic. Trailing 12-month operating cash flow increased 33% to $161.4 billion, while free cash flow shifted from a positive $18.2 billion to an outflow of $7.6 billion.

Amazon’s revenue of $200.61 billion exceeded the market expectation of $196.46 billion. Earnings of $5.75 per share also came in above analysts’ estimate of $1.82. North America sales increased 16% to $116.2 billion, while international sales rose 15% to $42.2 billion. Amazon reported total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash of $80.93 billion at the end of the period.

Amazon AWS Records Its Fastest Growth in 18 Quarters

Amazon Web Services’ second-quarter revenue increased 37% year over year to $42.2 billion. As a result, AWS recorded its highest growth rate in the past 18 quarters. The cloud unit’s operating income rose from $10.2 billion to $16.6 billion. AWS’s annualized revenue run rate reached $169 billion, while each of Amazon’s artificial intelligence and chip businesses surpassed an annualized revenue run rate of $25 billion.

Amazon shares rose approximately 5.2% during the regular trading session on earnings expectations. The company had previously expected second-quarter revenue to be between $194 billion and $199 billion. In the first quarter of the year, Amazon made $44.2 billion in capital expenditures to expand its data center and artificial intelligence capacity. This represented an increase of more than 76% year over year.

Amazon shares rose about 10% in premarket trading following the financial results. AWS’s revenue of $42.2 billion and growth rate of 36.7% were among the highlights of the results. Arun Sundaram, Senior Vice President at CFRA Research, described the results as a strong quarter for Amazon.

Artificial Intelligence Investment Budget Raised to $220 Billion

Meanwhile, Amazon increased its planned capital expenditures for 2026 from $200 billion to $220 billion. Rising memory chip costs contributed to the $20 billion increase in the investment plan, which covers artificial intelligence as well as robotics systems, semiconductors, and satellite technologies.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said that despite the $220 billion in spending, the company would not be able to build enough capacity to meet all of the demand in 2026. Jassy stated that a similar situation could continue in 2027 and that there is already notable demand for 2028.

Amazon entered into various agreements with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta as part of its efforts to expand its artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company also secured long-term capacity commitments for Trainium chips and added new foundation models developed by OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind to the Amazon Bedrock platform.

E-Commerce, Advertising, and Fast Delivery Supported Growth

Amazon’s advertising revenue also increased 26% in the second quarter to $19.8 billion. The company continued to expand advertising inventory on Prime Video and its e-commerce platform. Consumer spending during Amazon’s four-day Prime Day campaign in the quarter exceeded $26.4 billion, according to Adobe Analytics estimates.

Amazon accelerated delivery times in its retail operations by using robotics systems, artificial intelligence, and more efficient warehousing models. In the first half of the year, the number of products delivered to Prime members on the same day or the following morning increased by more than 40%. The company also expanded small fulfillment centers offering 30-minute delivery in certain cities. The number of new Amazon Pharmacy customers more than doubled in the first six months of the year, while same-day prescription deliveries increased nearly fivefold.

Amazon expects third-quarter net sales of between $197 billion and $202 billion and operating income of between $22.5 billion and $26.5 billion. The company’s third-quarter revenue forecast came in below analysts’ expectation of approximately $203.9 billion.

Amazon Reports Strong Q1 2026 Growth as AI and Cloud Drive Positive Momentum

Amazon Tops the Fortune Global 500: Walmart’s 12-Year Leadership Comes to an End

Amazon ranked first on the 2026 Fortune Global 500 list, bringing Walmart’s 12-year leadership to an end. The company, which operates in the fields of e-commerce, cloud computing, advertising, logistics, and artificial intelligence, generated $716.9 billion in revenue in 2025. Walmart ranked second on the list with revenue of $713.2 billion.

Founded in 1994 as an online bookstore, Amazon became the sixth company to reach the top in the 37-year history of the Fortune Global 500. The company’s compound annual growth rate during the 2018–2025 period reached approximately three times Walmart’s growth rate over the same period.

AWS and Artificial Intelligence Drove Amazon’s Growth

While e-commerce operations constituted Amazon’s largest source of revenue, Amazon Web Services (AWS) stood out in terms of profitability. AWS revenue increased by 20 percent in 2025, reaching $128.7 billion. Although the cloud computing unit accounted for less than one-fifth of Amazon’s total revenue, it generated $45.6 billion in operating profit. This figure corresponded to approximately 57 percent of the company’s total operating profit.

The company is planning approximately $200 billion in capital expenditure in 2026, particularly for AWS, generative artificial intelligence, custom chips, robotic systems, and satellite technologies. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy linked the growth in the company’s retail, advertising, and AWS operations to investments in innovation.

E-Commerce and Logistics Network Supported Amazon

Amazon’s Prime membership system, marketplace model, and its own delivery infrastructure played an important role in the company’s growth. The company’s multichannel structure, extending from retail and cloud services to advertising and entertainment, enabled it to diversify its revenue sources. According to Fortune, Amazon’s logistics network handles approximately 29 percent of package deliveries in the United States.

Walmart Increased Its Digital Retail Investments

Walmart strengthened its e-commerce infrastructure by transforming its physical stores into delivery and order pickup points. While the company’s global e-commerce sales grew by 24 percent in the 2026 fiscal year, Walmart U.S. online sales increased by 27 percent in the final quarter. The retail company also expanded its investments in advertising, media, and artificial intelligence. Walmart’s shopping experience within ChatGPT brings together product discovery, account linking, loyalty programs, and Walmart payment options.

Amazon Business Surpasses $60 Billion in Annualized Sales, Accelerates AI-Driven B2B Procurement

Amazon Business has reached a major milestone, surpassing $60 billion in annualized gross sales while serving more than 11 million organizations worldwide. The achievement reflects the platform’s rapid expansion and the growing demand for digital procurement solutions across enterprises, governments, healthcare organizations, and educational institutions.

More than 1.8 million new organizations joined Amazon Business during the first half of 2026, reinforcing the company’s position as one of the world’s largest B2B e-commerce platforms. The continued growth demonstrates how businesses are increasingly shifting procurement operations to digital marketplaces that offer greater efficiency, pricing transparency, and supply chain flexibility.

Agentic AI Reshapes Enterprise Purchasing

Amazon is complementing its marketplace growth with a new generation of AI-powered procurement capabilitiesdesigned to simplify purchasing decisions. The company is introducing intelligent tools that help procurement teams identify cost-saving opportunities, detect unusual spending patterns, recommend relevant products, and automate routine purchasing tasks.

These innovations are part of a broader industry shift toward agentic AI, where autonomous AI systems assist buyers throughout the procurement lifecycle. Rather than relying solely on manual searches, businesses can leverage AI agents to evaluate suppliers, compare products, optimize purchasing decisions, and streamline procurement workflows.

A Growing Global B2B Marketplace

Amazon Business now supports organizations across 11 international markets, offering access to millions of products from third-party sellers alongside Amazon’s own inventory. Customers benefit from business-only pricing, quantity discounts, enhanced Prime Business services, tax-exempt purchasing options, and enterprise-grade procurement integrations.

The platform continues to expand its logistics capabilities, enabling faster commercial deliveries and helping organizations manage procurement more efficiently across multiple departments and locations.

The Future of B2B Commerce Is AI-Driven

Industry analysts believe AI will fundamentally transform enterprise purchasing over the coming years. As intelligent procurement assistants become more capable of managing sourcing, budgeting, compliance, and purchasing decisions, businesses are expected to reduce manual processes while improving operational efficiency and cost control.

Amazon’s combination of marketplace scale, advanced logistics infrastructure, and AI-powered procurement tools positions the company to play a leading role in the next phase of digital B2B commerce.

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Amazon Decides to Layoff Employees in Its Artificial Intelligence Unit

Amazon has eliminated some positions within its Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) organization, which works on advanced artificial intelligence models. The company did not disclose the number of employees affected by the layoff decision. It was reported that the restructuring was carried out to allocate more resources to artificial intelligence projects considered a priority in terms of customer needs.

Layoff Decision Linked to Customer-Focused Artificial Intelligence Projects

An Amazon spokesperson stated that developing large artificial intelligence models remains among the company’s most important areas of work. The spokesperson said Amazon aims to accelerate development in critical areas by focusing on initiatives that matter most to customers.

In its statement, the company noted that this focus required layoff decisions, including the elimination of certain roles in specific parts of the AGI organization. Amazon said that despite the layoff process, it would continue investing in areas it considers important for the future of its customers.

Management Structure in the AGI Unit Had Changed

Rohit Prasad, who led Amazon’s AGI efforts, left the company in late 2025. AGI Lab President David Luan also stepped down from his role in February 2026. In December, the company placed the AGI group under a broader organization led by Senior Vice President Peter DeSantis, which also includes chip development and quantum computing teams.

The latest layoff decision came after Amazon eliminated approximately 16,000 positions across the company in January 2026. According to Amazon’s statement, affected employees in the United States will be offered 90 days of pay and benefits, career transition support, temporary health coverage, and severance pay depending on eligibility.

Amazon Continues Its Artificial Intelligence Investments

Amazon said that despite the downsizing of its AGI team, it has not stepped back from its artificial intelligence investments. In June 2026, AWS announced a new $1 billion program for artificial intelligence engineers who will work within companies to help customers develop agentic AI systems.

Under the program, thousands of specialists are expected to work directly with customer teams. In a separate layoff process being carried out at two Amazon warehouse facilities in Florida, the number of affected employees is expected to exceed 1,000 due to facility renovation work.

Amazon Turns 32: The Online Bookstore Founded in a Garage Became a Global E-Commerce Giant

Amazon marked its 32nd year on July 5, 2026, once again bringing its growth in e-commerce, retail, cloud technologies, and artificial intelligence to the agenda. Founded by Jeff Bezos on July 5, 1994, in Bellevue, Washington, the company first came to life under the name “Cadabra”; it later took the name Amazon.com. The company’s website began operations on July 16, 1995, selling only books.

Amazon’s E-Commerce Journey Began with Books

Amazon quickly expanded its operations, which began with online book sales, into music, video, consumer products, the third-party marketplace model, and various digital services. This transformation enabled the company to position itself not only as an e-commerce platform but also as one of the most important players in the global retail and technology ecosystem.

Amazon Strengthened Its Power in U.S. Retail

According to JPMorgan estimates, Amazon surpassed Walmart last year to become the largest retailer in the U.S. The company’s retail-focused revenues account for approximately 74 percent of its total revenues. Amazon’s market value stands at approximately $2.61 trillion.

Artificial Intelligence and AWS Stand Out for Amazon

Amazon Web Services continues to play an important role in Amazon’s growth. AWS generated approximately $129 billion in revenue in 2025, and its annualized revenue run rate reportedly exceeded $140 billion in 2026. This growth strengthens the company’s position in artificial intelligence infrastructure, cloud services, and enterprise technology solutions.

Financial Indicators and Investor Tracking

Amazon’s P/E ratio stands at 29.03. While the company’s GF Score is stated as 94/100, it is reported to show strong performance in financial strength, profitability, and growth. The source news also stated that $51.6 million worth of insider stock sales took place in the company over the last three months, with no purchases reported.

Amazon’s New Focus: Digital Retail and Artificial Intelligence

Amazon’s 32-year transformation reveals the new structure of e-commerce extending from traditional product sales to AI-powered retail, data-driven operations, cloud infrastructure, and the marketplace economy. The company continues to maintain its influence in the global digital commerce ecosystem through online retail, third-party seller services, advertising, devices, and AWS.

Founded in a Garage, Transformed into a Global E-Commerce Giant

Amazon’s founding story is one of the most remarkable entrepreneurial journeys in modern e-commerce. Jeff Bezos left his career on Wall Street in 1994, foresaw that the internet would grow rapidly, and decided to establish a company that would be at the center of this transformation. His first goal was to sell books online. Because books were an ideal starting point for online sales due to their wide product variety, easily catalogable structure, and global demand potential.

Bezos founded the company in the garage of his home in Bellevue, Washington, in the United States. The venture, initially named Cadabra, later took the name Amazon.com, inspired by Amazon, one of the world’s largest rivers. The company’s website went live in 1995 and soon began receiving orders from outside the U.S. as well.

Although Amazon initially operated only as an online bookstore, Bezos’ vision was much broader. Over time, the company invested in different product categories, the third-party seller model, logistics infrastructure, cloud technologies, and artificial intelligence, becoming one of the strongest brands in global digital commerce.

Amazon Tightens Fulfilled by Merchant Requirements Across Europe

Amazon is introducing stricter performance requirements for merchants using its Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM) program, signaling a stronger focus on delivery reliability and customer experience. The updated rules will require sellers to maintain higher delivery standards or risk having their listings deactivated on the marketplace.

Amazon has announced significant changes to its FBM policies, particularly in Germany and the United Kingdom, as it seeks to improve delivery performance and provide more accurate delivery promises to customers. Under the new requirements, sellers will need to maintain an On-Time Delivery Rate (OTDR) of at least 90 percent, with stricter enforcement measures beginning later this year.

Starting on September 1, 2026, German sellers that fail to meet the required delivery standards may see affected listings deactivated and could lose the ability to add new FBM products. Similar requirements are also being introduced for Amazon Business orders, where merchants will be expected to achieve at least a 90 percent business-hour delivery rate beginning September 30. Non-compliant listings for business customers may be removed from October 30 onwards.

Amazon is also tightening its handling time requirements. In the UK, account-level default handling times will be limited to zero-day and one-day options from July 15, 2026. Additionally, the company plans to automatically adjust handling times on products where sellers consistently outperform their own stated processing estimates.

Amazon Expands Fulfillment Requirements as New Cross-Border Regulations Take Effect

The policy updates coincide with new European Union customs regulations affecting cross-border e-commerce shipments. From July 1, 2026, merchants shipping low-value orders from outside the EU into the bloc must use approved carriers and provide enhanced customs documentation, including product-level information and Amazon’s Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) details for eligible shipments.

The new requirements reflect Amazon’s broader strategy of raising operational standards across its marketplace ecosystem. For merchants, the changes underscore the growing importance of delivery performance, logistics efficiency, and regulatory compliance in maintaining visibility and competitiveness on one of the world’s largest e-commerce platforms.

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