Amazon has published its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2025 and the full fiscal year. The numbers leave no room for doubt. The marketplace is growing at a sustained pace, driven by AI, cloud services, and an increasingly widespread logistics infrastructure.
In this article, we will analyze the most relevant data for sellers. We will look at AI innovations and the expansion of logistics. Then, we will discuss how the shopping experience is changing and the impacts on visibility and conversions.
The numbers for the last quarter of 2025
Let’s start, as always, with the numbers. Q4 2025 closed with net sales of $213.4 billion, up 14% year-over-year. This result exceeded analyst expectations and confirmed Amazon’s structural solidity as a global commercial platform.
The figures by segment clearly show where the growth is concentrated:
- North America: +10% to $127.1 billion
- International: +17% to $50.7 billion (+11% at constant currency)
- AWS: +24% to $35.6 billion, the fastest growth in the last 13 quarters.
Looking at the full year 2025, total revenues reached $716.9 billion (+12%). Net income was $77.7 billion (+31% compared to 2024). Annual operating income hit $80 billion, a significant increase over the $68.6 billion in 2024.
So far, no major surprises for sellers. Amazon’s financial health has long been synonymous with a platform that continues to invest heavily in infrastructure, technology, and logistics. These are areas that directly impact the shopping experience and the performance of those who sell.
Rufus and AI shopping: 300 million customers are changing how they search for products
The most relevant news for sellers from this quarterly report comes from the data on Rufus, Amazon’s AI shopping assistant. In 2025, it was used by over 300 million customers and generated nearly $12 billion in annualized incremental sales.
These numbers are of great interest. Rufus is no longer a niche tool; rather, it should be considered an integral part of the customer journey for hundreds of millions of people. With the Buy For Me function (which allows the AI to navigate other sites and complete purchases on behalf of the customer), Amazon is effectively expanding its reach far beyond the traditional marketplace.
For sellers, this translates into the need to prioritize product listing optimization. Listing content can no longer only consider traditional keywords for the internal search engine. Instead, it is necessary to start thinking in conversational terms.
Rufus responds to very specific questions, suggesting products and solutions for inquiries such as:
- What is the best drill for a beginner?
- I need an inexpensive gift for my grandmother.
Therefore, listings containing clear descriptions, well-structured technical specifications, explicit use cases, and answers to frequently asked questions will be favored by this new type of search.
Adoption of Lens (Amazon’s visual search tool) also grew 45% year-over-year. Visual search is becoming increasingly common. Having high-quality images, clean backgrounds, and multiple angles is now a vital competitive necessity.
Logistics and delivery speed: Amazon accelerates, sellers benefit (but must keep up)
2025 was a record-breaking year for Amazon logistics: the company stated it delivered at its highest speed ever for Prime members globally. Specific data supports these claims:
- Same-day deliveries in the USA grew 70% year-over-year.
- The service is now used by nearly 100 million customers.
- Same-day grocery delivery now covers over 2,300 American cities and towns.
- Same-day pharmacy is available in 3,000+ US cities.
- In rural areas, the average number of customers receiving same-day deliveries has nearly doubled.
Amazon Now, the ultra-fast service with delivery in 30 minutes or less, is also expanding in India, Mexico, and the UAE, and is being tested in parts of the UK.
Sellers using FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) should benefit. Better delivery speeds are a competitive advantage over sellers managing logistics independently. Furthermore, conversion rates on Amazon are strongly correlated with the promised delivery speed. The faster the estimated arrival date shown to buyers, the higher the probability of a purchase.
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Advertising: +22% growth and new opportunities for brands
In the statement accompanying the quarterly numbers, Andy Jassy explicitly cites advertising as one of the main growth drivers, with a 22% year-over-year increase.
This data is significant for both Amazon and those selling on the platform. Amazon advertising is an increasingly central pillar of commercial strategies; ignoring it means yielding visibility to competitors.
The growth of Amazon’s advertising reflects a structural trend. Advertisers are shifting budgets from other channels to Amazon because it offers targeting with purchase intent that is difficult to replicate elsewhere. A user searching for a product on Amazon is already in the buying phase. In contrast, those who intercept a user on social media typically do so when the user is in the discovery phase.
For sellers, the practical implications are twofold:
- Competition in ad auctions will continue to increase, making it more expensive to maintain visibility solely with Sponsored Products campaigns.
- Amazon is developing advanced advertising formats integrated with new AI features, offering opportunities for those willing to experiment. Closely monitoring TACoS (Total Advertising Cost of Sales) and optimizing campaigns with updated data is now a priority to protect margins.
Amazon Haul and the low-cost segment: how to position yourself?
A signal that should not go unnoticed is the expansion of Amazon Haul. Amazon’s low-cost channel now has over 1 million products under $10 (many under $5) and is available in more than 25 countries and regions. The move is clearly a competitive response to Temu and Shein, repositioning Amazon in a price bracket where it traditionally did not compete.
Unsurprisingly, the report mentions that Amazon was named the online retailer with the lowest prices in the USA for the ninth consecutive year, with prices on average 14% lower than other major American retailers.
For sellers, those operating in the budget range will face increasing competitive pressure, including from products directly selected or sponsored by Amazon for Haul. Conversely, those dealing with higher value-added products (differentiated by quality, brand, uniqueness, or service) have less reason for direct concern but must ensure their perceived value is clearly communicated in the listings.
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AI and Infrastructure Investments: $200 billion in 2026
Perhaps the most relevant data for understanding Amazon’s future trajectory is the investment figure. The company announced its intention to spend approximately $200 billion in capital expenditure in 2026. A significant portion of this capital is destined for Artificial Intelligence. Consequently, free cash flow dropped from $38.2 to $11.2 billion due to this investment intensity.
These investments are reflected throughout the marketplace. Amazon’s Trainium and Graviton chips now have an annual revenue exceeding $10 billion. The AI Project Rainier computing cluster (composed of over 500,000 Trainium2 chips) is used by Anthropic to train Claude models.
For sellers, this means AI features on the platform (from search to advertising, recommendations, and inventory management) will become increasingly sophisticated and pervasive over the next 12-24 months. Preparing today means having quality data (optimized listings, professional images, genuine reviews), as these are the inputs that feed the algorithms.
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What to expect in Q1 2026: Amazon’s guidance
Amazon provided guidance for the first quarter of 2026 with:
- Net sales expected between $173.5 and $178.5 billion.
- Growth between 11% and 15% compared to Q1 2025.
- Operating income projected between $16.5 and $21.5 billion.
Worth noting is the explicit mention of investments in quick commerce and even more competitive prices for international stores, which will impact operating margins in the short term. It is clear that Amazon is willing to accept tighter margins to gain share in markets where it feels pressure.
Summarizing Amazon’s Q4 2025 results, we see a platform in strong growth, becoming increasingly dependent on AI and ultra-fast logistics. For sellers, this translates into several concrete priorities:
- Optimize listings for AI/conversational search: clear descriptions, explicit use cases, integrated FAQs.
- Maintain visual quality of products to capture visual search (Lens +45%).
- Leverage FBA to access the record delivery speeds Amazon is building.
- Monitor and optimize advertising campaigns with a focus on TACoS, in a context of rising CPCs.
- Differentiate clearly in value communication, especially for those not competing on pure price.
- Keep an eye on Haul’s expansion and its impact on low-cost product segments.
2026 promises to be a year of major transformation for the marketplace. Those who adapt to the new tools and the new expectations of buyers—who are increasingly accustomed to speed, AI, and competitive prices—will have a structural advantage over those who continue to operate with the logic of the past.
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