Amazon announced Thursday that its second-quarter sales reached $200.61 billion, marking the first time its quarterly revenue surpassed $200 billion. Global markets this week were defined by a collision between AI investment skepticism and AI growth conviction, as Microsoft, Meta and Amazon reported earnings in succession. Capital expenditure at major tech companies has surged to record levels, with some seeing free cash flow turn negative, yet markets shifted toward the view that AI investment is translating into revenue. Amazon Web Services posted second-quarter sales growth of 36.7 percent year-on-year, beating expectations on growth rate, profitability and order backlog. AWS accounted for 21 percent of Amazon's total sales but contributed 61 percent of its operating profit, while its order backlog grew 36 percent from the previous quarter to $496 billion. Amazon's free cash flow over the trailing 12 months swung to a deficit of $7.6 billion, driven by net capital expenditure climbing to $169 billion, and the company raised its full-year cash-based capital expenditure plan to $220 billion. Markets focused on recouping costs, as Amazon said AI server investments are typically recovered within three years on average, most recent AI contracts run five years or longer, and a significant portion of spending is backed by secured demand. Analysts at South Korean brokerages cautioned against excessive concern, with Kwon Young-bae of Mirae Asset Securities saying worries about free cash flow are overblown. Combined cloud sales at Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft jumped 42.