Anthropic Commits $100B to AWS as Amazon Bets Up to $25B on AI Partner. Is AMZN a Buy Now?

Amazon (AMZN) rarely gets the same artificial intelligence (AI) hype as its rivals even though it has quietly been laying the foundation powering AI. Through Amazon Web Services (AWS), custom chips, and now a massive long-term partnership with Anthropic, the company is positioning itself as the infrastructure backbone of the AI era.

AMZN stock is up almost 11% year-to-date (YTD), outperforming the broader market. What does this latest deal with Anthropic mean for Amazon stock?

What Does the Anthropic Deal Mean for Amazon?

Amazon and Anthropic recently deepened their relationship with a long-term deal focused on infrastructure, compute capacity, and AI deployment. On April 20, Anthropic announced that it has committed to spending more than $100 billion over the next decade to AWS, securing up to 5 gigawatts of compute capacity to train and operate its Claude family of AI models.

The infrastructure will be powered by Amazon’s custom silicon, including current and future generations of Trainium chips as well as Graviton processors. Anthropic’s Claude models are rapidly expanding. Notably, more than 100,000 customers have adopted Claude through AWS since 2023, making it one of the most popular AI model families on Amazon Bedrock. At the same time, Amazon is also investing $5 billion in Anthropic immediately, with the potential to increase that investment by up to $20 billion over time, on top of the $8 billion the tech giant has already committed. 

One of the best outcomes of this strategic partnership is the integration of the full Claude platform directly into AWS. Customers will be able to use Claude using their existing AWS accounts, without the requirement for additional credentials or billing systems. Together, these moves reflect a tightly aligned partnership where one company provides the infrastructure backbone while the other drives model innovation.

AWS: Amazon’s Most Powerful Weapon

AWS is already Amazon’s most profitable segment, and AI is expected to drive its next phase of growth. Amazon's Trainium is specifically intended for machine learning workloads, providing considerable performance benefits at a lower cost than typical GPU-based solutions. These chips are already widely used, with over 100,000 users using Trainium and Graviton on AWS. 

In the fourth quarter, AWS revenue reached $35.6 billion, an increase of 24% year-over-year (YOY). This momentum resulted in a $142 billion annualized run rate for AWS, while the firm's custom chip business surpassed $10 billion and is growing at triple-digit rates. The AWS backlog stands at a whopping $244 billion.

Amazon is also investing heavily in AI, with plans to spend $200 billion in capital expenditures, mostly focused on AWS. This reflects both strong demand and Amazon’s confidence in the long-term growth of AI-driven cloud services. By securing long-term commitments from a major player like Anthropic, Amazon is locking in future demand for its cloud services.

Amazon is set to report its Q1 earnings on April 29. Analysts predict revenue growth of 14% YOY to $177.1 billion, as well as an earnings increase of roughly 4% to $1.65 per share. For full-year 2026, revenue and earnings are expected to increase by 13% and 8%, respectively.

Is AMZN Stock a Buy Now?

Amazon’s expanding partnership with Anthropic is a clear signal that the company is serious about leading the AI revolution. The combination of massive infrastructure, custom silicon, and strategic partnerships positions AWS as a central player in the next decade of computing. For long-term investors, this deal strengthens the bull case for Amazon.

Overall, Wall Street rates AMZN stock as a consensus “Strong Buy." Of the 58 analysts covering the stock, 49 have a “Strong Buy,” six have a “Moderate Buy" rating, and three analysts rate the stock as a “Hold.” The mean target price of $288.14 implies 13% potential upside from current levels. Plus, the high target price of $360 suggests that shares could climb as much as 41% over the next year.