An increase in Amazon Web Services spending cut into the cloud giant’s profits in the second quarter as AWS raced to meet demand for AI against Microsoft, Google, and others.

Operating profit will be $15.5 billion to $20.5 billion in the period ending in September, compared with an average estimate of $19.4 billion. Sales will be $174 billion to $179.5 billion, the company said Thursday in a statement.

Amazon and Microsoft's dominant position in cloud computing is having an adverse effect on competition, exacerbated by technical and commercial barriers to switching, an inquiry group from Britain's antitrust regulator said.

Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud unit that accounts for less than a fifth of the company's sales but typically about 60% of its profit, likely grew 17% in the April-June period. Amazon, like its rivals Alphabet and Microsoft,

The company expects net sales to be between $174.0 billion and $179.5 billion in the third quarter, compared with analysts' average estimate of $173.08 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Amazon reported its second-quarter 2025 earnings Thursday. Wall Street forecast earnings per share (EPS) of $1.33 on $162.11 billion in revenue for the e-commerce giant, according to analyst consensus data provided by LSEG.