** Amazon AMZN.O reported stronger-than-expected growth in its cloud business on Wednesday, fueled by robust enterprise spending as companies ramp up investment in artificial intelligence initiatives

** Shares up 1.62% at $267.31 premarket

CLOUDS THE COMPETITION

** Pivotal Research Group ("buy," PT: $320) says the cloud business retains a long growth runway as more companies migrate online, supported by AI services, Amazon’s in‑house chips, specialized AI agents, and AWS broadening its offerings at the expense of traditional software providers

** Morningstar (fair value: $280) says AWS’ slower growth due to its scale is not a concern, as it sees room for multiple winners in public cloud and generative AI and expects AWS to retain leadership for years on the strength of its broad portfolio

** Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says AMZN's AI story outside its cloud business still lacks shine, but that could be the opportunity, with its vast e-commerce platform able to gain from areas like agent-led shopping and behind-the-scenes robotics even as the market waits for a standout moment

** D.A. Davidson ("neutral," PT: $250) says "exposure to both leading labs and the growing scale of the chip business positions AMZN to benefit from the ongoing race to secure scarce compute resources"