Amazon’s best quarter in years was half-built on a $16.8 billion paper gain from Anthropic

Amazon reported first-quarter 2026 net sales of $181.5 billion, a 17 per cent increase year on year that exceeded analyst estimates by more than $4 billion. Net income reached $30.3 billion, nearly doubling from $17.1 billion in the same period last year. Earnings per share came in at $2.78, crushing the $1.64 consensus.